This is the Life
by greenglowchassis
Summary: Focuses on the characters after the movie. Letty/Dom, Mia/Brian, Gin/Jesse. Complications in Dom and Letty's relationship
1. Default Chapter

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the fast and furious characters, just gin and the situations are my own.  
  
  
  
~Letty's POV~ I close the hood of the Civic and sigh. I arch my back, stretching all the tense muscles that formed from my leaning over the engine for so long. I rub the back of my neck and tuck sweaty loose strands of hair behind my ears. God, it must be 100 degrees today! My sweaty wifebeater clings to my back and I try to fan some air onto my skin by lifting the back if it. Finally! It's 12:30.  
  
"Hey guys?" I ask the team, who are still working on various cars.  
  
"What?" Vince asks, rolling out from under a Sunfire.  
  
"I'm goin' to the store. You guys want anything?" They give me their orders and I peel out in my car with the windows down. The air feels so good on my sweaty body. When are they getting that garage some kind of AC! I pull up to the store a few minutes later and make a mad dash for the drink case behind the wire in the back.  
  
"Water!" I yell to Mia and she laughs at my desperation. "Oh and could you make some sandwiches for me and the guys?"  
  
She just laughs and nods.  
  
Dom sits back there, nursing a Corona, and frowning over some paper work. After chugging my Aquafina for a good minute, I grab a chair from the table where he's sitting and sit on it backwards. "Hey," I say, rubbing his head and neck for a second.  
  
"Hey," he replies, a small grin playing on his lips. I pull his head to mine and we kiss. Our tongues tease each other for a moment and then I pull back. He looks surprised as I place a finger to his lips.  
  
"Later." I whisper. "I've got to get back to the garage. That Civic needs some serious revamping. I just came in to get lunch for me and the guys."  
  
I go back out into the main market feeling his eyes following me. I grab a seat on a swivel stool at the counter to talk to Mia.  
  
"Hey Mia. How you livin' girl?"  
  
"Apparently not as well as you are." She grins and nods to Dom. I smile and the girl sitting on the stool next to mine laughs, almost spitting her drink.  
  
I hadn't really noticed anyone else in the store, but now I turn to look at her. She has straight, dark brown hair about the same length as mine that hides her face for a moment. She looks at me and smiles and I can see she has very green eyes, her skin a bronze color. She looks maybe Brazilian or Costa Rican. Her clothes were casual, lowrider jeans and a navy wifebeater with the words Navy SEALS in silver. As she puts down her Coke I see a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist. It almost looks.tribal.  
  
"Virginia, this is Letty. Letty, Virginia." Mia introduces us. Virginia rolls her eyes.  
  
"Gin." She says and then glances at Mia. "Usted mira mejor su espalda si usted me sigue llamando Virginia." ~You better watch your back if you keep calling me Virginia~ I laugh and Mia looks bewildered.  
  
"What did you say? What did she say?" Mia looks to me for help as she finishes the sandwiches. I just hold up my hands in surrender. "I'm not getting into this."  
  
"Well, I'd like to stay Mia, but I've got to get going. If they find out I'm off campus again, my school will pitch a fucking fit, so I need to roll." Gin slides off the stool and tosses a $20 on the counter. "Keep the change. I'll probably be back in a day or two. Bye Letty. It was nice meeting you."  
  
"Nice meeting you too. Stay cool." I reply.  
  
"Ciao, Gin. I'll see ya whenever." Mia waves and Gin walks to her car, a fly yellow Integra with a spoiler and decals. I wonder if she races. I haven't seen her with Hector's crew, and she's not a usual race skank. Besides, she seems too.classy?  
  
"How do ya know her?" I ask Mia, pointing to the lingering smoke from her wheels.  
  
"Oh, she comes in occasionally. She goes to that private school, Eastwood. You know the one that you practically need a retina scan to get on and off campus of?"  
  
"Oh, rich kid."  
  
"I guess. Here, sandwiches are done." She hands me a bag.  
  
"Thanks, Mi. Oh and she said watch your back if you keep calling her Virginia." I smile devilishly. Mia stands there with her mouth open, half- smiling, as I leave for the garage.  
  
*OK, first chapter, first fanfic, so gimme feedback. The story will go where the readers want it to! Oh and everything will happen gradually, in due time, so nothing seems rushed!* ~ K 


	2. back to the garage

~Dom's POV~ "Arghh," I growl in the back of the store. I'm doing this week's paperwork for the garage and store and the numbers just won't add up.  
  
"What's wrong?" Mia sighs and comes to me.  
  
"Nothing. These numbers just won't add up." I slam my fist on the table in frustration and almost spill my drink.  
  
"Chill, Dom. Relax. Let me have a look," Mia soothes as she rubs a sisterly hand on my back. She spends a minute following my calculations, and then lets out a little laugh.  
  
"Well, when you make six minus three equal nine, I think there are problems." She looks at me and I smile.  
  
"I've just been doing all this boring paperwork, and I want to get back to the garage. I need to be in a car right now."  
  
"I know. Here, I'll finish up and you go back to the garage. You don't want to be too tired for your wild night tonight." She grins devilishly, referring to my moment with Letty earlier, and runs for the door so as to escape me tickling her to death. I smile and pull all the paperwork into a folder, handing it to Mia on my way out.  
  
"Thanks, Mi. I might have gone crazy with that shit. It's so.argghh!"  
  
"I know. I don't mind finishing it, though. You go to the garage and swap an engine or something." I don't stop to argue and jump into my Mazda, squealing the tires in my hurry to get to DT.  
  
Pulling into the driveway, I can see Vince working on the interior of an Acura. It's great to see him alive and well. After the heists, he was layed up for a month or two and a pain in my ass! That was the only time he was allowed to order me around. I walk farther into the garage and see Jesse's silhouette against the office glass. That fighter almost croaked on us. The bullet hit him just to the right of his heart and lodged in his ribcage. Thank God! I don't know what any of us would do without Jesse. That kid is an angel in disguise.  
  
"Hey Dom." Leon says. " Ya wanna give me a hand with these?" He nods his head towards the remaining Acura seats in the store room.  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Vince is installing them in the RSX-S. The crazy fuck who ordered these wants them in by Friday, along with a complete replacement of his shitty stock engine, and a wings west body kit."  
  
"HAHAHA. No fucking way. He'll just have to wait, because that will take at least two weeks, maybe three if Harry doesn't have the parts in stock." I hate rich guys like that who have all the money in the world and assume it revolves around their schedule.  
  
I hear an engine rumble in front of the garage and Brian rolls up in Harry's red truck, the back loaded with parts. Letty rolls out from under the Sunfire and goes to help unload them. After I finish moving the seats, I go to help the two of them unload all the parts Brian picked up.  
  
"Hey Dom, " he says, extending his hand. I hesistate and then shake.  
  
"Hey. What you got there?" I ask. After Brian had given me the keys to the Supra, he cleared our names, losing his badge in the process. He was the only one with any proof that we had been the ones to hijack those trucks. Leon, Letty, and I has spent a few weeks in Mexico and then come home. I've been on edge around him since then, but I do trust him. He gave up his job, his life, for one with Mia and us. It seems odd, but V forgave him before I did.  
  
"Just the stuff you ordered last week. Wings West, Nos, Greddy, Konig. Harry said he'd bill ya next week."  
  
"K. Sounds good."  
  
Jesse came out of the office. "Hey Dom. Mia just called. She said she wants everyone home early today, cause she's trying to bring this chick, Scotch, or Vodka or something over for dinner."  
  
"Gin." Letty pipes up. "Gin, not Vodka."  
  
"Yeah, that's right. How'd you know?"  
  
"I met her for a second at the store."  
  
"Is she hot?" Leon pipes up.  
  
"I don't know. I guess." Letty looks at Leo. "As much as you wish, I wasn't checking her out."  
  
"She's a knockout." I say quietly, as Letty elbows me in the gut. She rolls her eyes as I groan softly. I turn her to face me and gently kiss her. "Not as hot as you," I whisper in her ear, and she laughs.  
  
"Sure sure." She says. "Nice save."  
  
  
  
* Ok, I was having a little trouble getting into Dom's head so this chapter might suck. Sorry! If any of you have ideas, please tell me~! I want this story to go where you guys want it to go! ~ K 


	3. Eastwood and Insight

~Virginia's POV~ I pull up to Eastwood and park my car on the sidestreet, slipping through the bars of the wrought iron gates with an ease that sends shivers down my spine. Am I really still that skinny? I sneak back into the school building and get into class just before the bell rings.  
  
"Where were you?" my friend Jack asks, as I sit down next to him at the lab table. AP Bio.  
  
"I went out."  
  
"Out where?"  
  
"Lunch. Toretto's."  
  
"You eat?" Jack said in mock surprise.  
  
"Shut up!" I say, my eyes flashing.  
  
"Ok, ok. Sorry, but do you know how pissed Mad Dog or Turismo would be if they found out you left again?" Jack refers to the Dean and Headmaster of Eastwood, with a semi-shocked expression on his face. "Last time you left, they gave you ISS for a couple days."  
  
"Yeah, and it wasn't half bad, except for missing auto shop and art."  
  
"But didn't your dad say if you broke the rules one more time, he'd send you to that reform school in Maryland?"  
  
"Let him. At least then I'd be able to get away from him. I hate that man so much." I clenched and unclenched my hands. "Besides, when has my father ever made good on any promise?"  
  
"True, very true." Jack sighed. "But next time, take me along. You know how much lunch here sucks."  
  
"Take me too." Tristan came up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. "Eastwood cafeteria people have these giant pointy sticks up their asses."  
  
I laugh and promise to take them. Then Mr. Parkers enters.  
  
"Hello everyone. Time for dissections today. Pick your lab partners." Jack and I grab for each other. Last time, he was with the class psycho, and I got stuck with Mark, the guy who was often "adjusting" himself in plain view of everyone else.  
  
"My god! How can Bio be that boring?" Jack asks, almost bewildered.  
  
"You just don't get it like I do. Every organ in that frog's body has a specific purpose. Just look at it like shop and you'd understand." We make our way to the garage on the other side of campus, for our shop class.  
  
"Hey Sam," I say to the teacher in coveralls and a welding mask.  
  
"Gin, glad to see you got back in time," Sam laughs.  
  
" I just went for lunch. When would I miss shop?"  
  
Sam just laughed. "So where's tonic?"  
  
"Don't you ever get tired of that joke? There is no tonic!" I roll my eyes at his stupid sense of humor, while slipping on a blue coveralls outfit from the hook by the door.  
  
"I gotta tease ya Gin. You're the only girl in shop. That gives me full ragging rights."  
  
"Yeah yeah yeah," I say as I roll under the semester project car. It's almost done. "Yo Sam?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Can't we soup this puppy up? Ya know add some Greddy to replace this stock shit?"  
  
"Hey! Language! I'm still a teacher you know. And no. The project is to make this car run as well as you can on what you got, and you got.stock shit." He laughs. "You've been watching too many movies. What do you know about souping up a car?"  
  
"Yeah you're right. But come on, if you gave me some decent parts, some decent cash, I could get this baby to run 0-60 in oh, 6 or 7 seconds? And that's only cuz I've never done it before."  
  
"Well, Gin, if anyone could do it, you probably could, but the school doesn't exactly let me give students money to soup up project cars."  
  
"Yeah yeah. Whatever. You know if you wanted to, they'd let you." I roll under the car with a wrench and don't come out until the bell rings. "Finally!" I breathe. Shaking off the coveralls and grabbing my bag, I say bye to the guys in the garage and head out, briefly stopping to grab books at my locker.  
  
Getting in my car, I realize I don't have my cell phone. "Shit. Where could I have left it." I say to nobody, but myself. "Ahh. Toretto's." I decide to go back and grab it on my way home. Mia probably kept it for me.  
  
I stop outside the store and go in.  
  
"Hey, come back for your phone?" Mia asks.  
  
"Yeah, and a coke." I smile. "Thanks for holding it for me."  
  
"No prob. I was hoping you'd come by today. I wanted to ask you something."  
  
"Shoot."  
  
"We're having a barbecue tonight and my house and I wanted to know if you wanted to come."  
  
"Who's we?"  
  
"Well, me, and Dom, my brother, who was back there earlier. Letty, whom you met, Leon, Vince, Jesse, and.Brian." When she says that last name her face lights up.  
  
"Mmm, and who's this Brian?" I tease.  
  
" Brian's my..well..he's. I don't know." Mia blushes.  
  
"Yeah, I know how that goes. Well, sure I'd love to come"  
  
"Ok, cool." She smiles. "Do you need to call your parents and let them know you'll be home later?"  
  
"No. My dad doesn't give a fuck about me, fucking drunk." I mumble.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. Your mother though? She might want you home?"  
  
"My mom is.dead." I look at Mia.  
  
"Oh. I'm really not saying the right things am I? If you don't mind my asking, how'd she die?"  
  
* OK, that's it for now. You'll find out more soon* ~K 


	4. before the barbecue

~Mia's POV~ "Drunk driver, when I was 13."  
  
"That must have been hard." I tell her. Just looking at her face, I can see all the pain she's been through.  
  
"Yeah. I'm surprised my father even noticed. He's, well.you don't want to hear about this."  
  
"Let's go back to my house. I can close the store a little early today." Secretly, I want to know what's hidden behind those green eyes, the story of this girl. She seems so confident and collected, but something leads me to believe that she's faking this. Maybe it's the way her face looked when I mentioned her family, maybe something else.  
  
"Ok. I'll follow you."  
  
I tidy the market a little and then pull down the metal cage after closing the sliding doors. We get into our cars and she follows me to the house. When we arrive, I head straight for the kitchen, starting to get everything ready for the barbecue.  
  
"Can I help?" she asks. "I'm not much of a cook, but I can probably do something."  
  
"Sure, how about washing the lettuce?"  
  
"Haha, something I can do! I'm all over that!" she laughs girlishly, her eyes sparkling.  
  
"So, tell me about your life. What do you like, what are your hobbies, how's school, general stuff?" I feel like I'm pressuring her into telling me about herself, but I'd really like to know.  
  
"Let's see. Well, school's a PITA. Most people there are so stuck on themselves and their own lives. It's a country club school, you know, rich people send their kids there so they can go to school, but never really do any work. Oh god, now it sounds like I'm bragging about money."  
  
I just laugh. "Don't worry about it. I understand."  
  
"Well, ok. It's just, most of the girls there are either sluts, or really girly, ahh, I don't know. A few girls are ok, a lot of fun, but its better to just stick with guy friends. They're so much easier to be friends with. I really like art and auto shop. Those are the only classes I actually work at. All the other ones are so simple. You could barely call it a school. The only thing you learn there is how to follow in your parent's affluent drunken-party footsteps and that's not my life."  
  
"So you like art and auto shop, huh?" I ask, really wanting to ask what she means by affluent drunken-party footsteps.  
  
"Yeah." Gin lights up at the topics. " I love 'em. I'm the only girl in auto shop, and it's a lot of fun. The teacher, Sam, he's crazy."  
  
"He lets you call him Sam?"  
  
"Yeah, well, the faculty and administration doesn't like it, but they don't like him much either. He's too 'rough' for their upper-class snob-factory school. And art is great too. I really like cars and art together, you know designing decals and just car lines. Cars can be such beautiul works of art." She stops at my snort, looking a little hurt.  
  
"Sorry," I say. "I didn't mean that. You just talk about them so passionately."  
  
"Yeah, well they're the one thing I take a real interest in. I noticed your car, and Letty's had decals on them. Who designed them?"  
  
"Jesse, who you'll meet later, and I did."  
  
"They're great. Mine's a little plain, but I like it."  
  
"Yeah, I was wondering about that. Do you race or something? Cuz you definitely have a racer's ride, and trust me, I should know."  
  
"Does it look that way? YEAH! Haha, I'm such a freakin' poser. My car is seriously, well, not souped up. I just watch movies all the time and I saw those gorgeous racing cars and thought, hell, why not at least make mine look cool."  
  
I laugh at her excitement. She's so pretty, and so thin, very thin.  
  
"Well, I'm done with the lettuce. Anything else I can do?"  
  
"Well, let's see, maybe-"  
  
"Oh! You have a keyboard. Can I play it?" She looks excitedly at the piece of shit keyboard in the corner. Vince brought it home for Leon as a joke a couple months ago.  
  
"Sure, but it's a POS."  
  
She grabs it and puts it on her lap as she sits on the countertop. She sets it to normal piano and suddenly the room is filled with music. She's an amazing pianist, even I can tell that on the worthless keyboard. Then I hear the screen door slam shut and boots shuffling on the floor. Guess the guys are home.  
  
"Hey, what is that?" Vince comes in. "Mi, are you playing that keyboard?" He laughs shortly. When the guys walk into the kitchen, Gin stops, looking a little embarrassed.  
  
"Oh sorry, thought you were Mia." Vince says gruffly, sticking his head in the fridge for a Corona.  
  
"Hey Gin, How ya livin' girl?" Letty comes over with Dom, his massive arm wrapped around her waist.  
  
"Oh, so that's Gin." I hear Leon say softly to Jesse. "Damn."  
  
"Hey Letty. I'm doing pretty well."  
  
"Get back to school ok?"  
  
"Yeah. I don't think anyone noticed. Got back just in time for AP Bio. SCORE!" she says sarcastically.  
  
"You're still in high school?" Leon said a little louder, looking disappointed.  
  
"Yeah, my last year, thank God. That place is such a hell hole." Gin rolls her eyes.  
  
I can see Jesse smiling at her. She's smiling back. Oh God, I can see him getting whipped over Gin.  
  
"Guys, clear out of the kitchen if you aren't going to help." I say, a little annoyed.  
  
Leon and Jesse go out back with Vince to shoot hoops. Dom takes the chicken outside to grill it and Letty follows, with silverware to set the folding table. Brian stays in the kitchen. I look over at Gin and she winks, hopping off the counter, putting the keyboard back into the corner, and says, " I think I'll go see if the guys want any more people for basketball."  
  
As she leaves Brian comes up behind me at the stove, wraps his arms around my waist and whispers in my ear.  
  
"Need any help?"  
  
"With the cooking?" I smile to myself.  
  
"Sure." He grins and then turns me around to face him. Our eyes keep darting to each other's lips, and soon we kiss, gently at first, and then more passionately. His tongue slips into my mouth and I laugh. I scoot myself onto the countertop, my legs next to his hips and we continue our embrace. I hear someone clear his throat and Leon and Dom stand in the doorway.  
  
"Mia, chicken'll be done in a few. You got the rest ready?"  
  
"Yeah, almost." I say, blushing furiously.  
  
"Alright." They return to the backyard, with Leon chuckling.  
  
"Damn, dawg," I hear him say. "She works fast. They weren't even alone for five minutes."  
  
Damn it, Leon. Shut UP! Brian laughs at that. "You do have a power." I smack his arm, but smile.  
  
"MIA!!" Dom calls.  
  
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I yell back. 


	5. the barbecue

A/N: Sorry if I screw up but I'm trying to learn how to do the italics, so if anyone knows how, if this chapter's italics don't work, email me. Also, whenever I do the whole "pause signified by dot dot dot" it only comes out as one dot. Help? Greenglowchassis@hotmail.com thanks ~K  
  
~Jesse's POV~ "Great meal, Mia." Vince says, looking at her, almost longingly. We sit around the table outside  
  
"Thanks. Gin washed the lettuce." Mia grins. " Hey, speaking of Gin, let's play Go Fish."  
  
"Ok. I'm champion at that game!" Gin laughs.  
  
"Naw, she means another kind of Go Fish. You put all these questions in a bowl and ya go around the table and everyone picks one out. Everyone has to answer the one question" Leon says. "Blah, blah, blah."  
  
"It's one of those 'getting to know you' games they play on the first day of high school and shit." I glance at her. /IDamn she's pretty/I  
  
"Oh. Well..Ok." She says rather hesitantly. I wonder why. "What kind of questions?"  
  
"Anything really." I can't stop staring.  
  
"I'll go get a bowl." Mia goes inside and returns with a blue ceramic bowl, some paper, and a couple of pens. We all write a few questions down and toss them in the bowl.  
  
"Alright, Dom." Mia says. He picks out a question.  
  
"Oh god. What age did you lose your virginity?" His gravely voice quiets for a second. "I'm not answering that."  
  
"Come on dawg! We all have to."  
  
"Fine. 16." Dom says gruffly.  
  
"16," I say quickly.  
  
"18," Brian answers.  
  
"Me too." Leon replies.  
  
"17," Vince takes a swig of his Corona.  
  
"17," Letty looks at Dom for a second.  
  
"17," Mia says meekly.  
  
"I'm a virgin." Gin states. Everyone's head turns to her in surprise. "Haha, just kidding. 16," Everyone laughs, in a relieved sort of way.  
  
" God, ok. Jesse. Question." Letty hands me the bowl, and I squint on the dim light trying to read the question.  
  
"If you were on a desert island, and could bring 3 things, what would they be?"  
  
The game continues for a couple hours, but by 8 most people had gone inside and the table is lit only by a few vanilla candles. Leon and Brian were in the living room watching a movie. Mia had started washing a few dishes. Dom and Letty went upstairs to pursue /Iother/I activies. The only people left outside are Vince, Gin, and me. We'd left the bowl alone for a while and had just been talking about ourselves.  
  
"So Gin, what's your family like?" I ask her. Her face clouds over for a second and she stares at a nonexistent speck of dust on the table.  
  
"Complicated." A pause ensues. "I should probably get home. It was really nice to meet you guys. Maybe I'll see you again sometime." She walks into the house, and I follow her.  
  
"I'll show you out." I say lamely. I just want to say goodbye.  
  
"Ok."  
  
"Do you need a ride home?" I ask quickly.  
  
"No. I drove from the store," she says gesturing to her car parked along the street. "But thanks for offering."  
  
"Uhh," I say stalling for a few seconds with her. "Do ya think, maybe, we could do something sometime?"  
  
She looks up, surprised, but pleased, a smile playing on her lips. "Maybe." She teases me. "Yeah, sometime." She gets in her car and drives off. I do all I can to keep myself from jumping up and down like a five-year old.  
  
  
  
* OK the next chapter will be the Letty/Dom sitch that prettyg36 wanted. Sorry if they're short, but I'm making them very frequent. I'll start to make them longer if I can. 


	6. Letty's wild night and Toretto's

~Letty's POV~ After it gets pretty dark, people start to trickle away from the barbecue. Dom goes upstairs, probably knowing I won't be far behind. He predicts correctly, and after I help Mia start the dishes (she needs someone to help, and the guys aren't looking like they will) I go upstairs.  
  
"Hey," I softly say, opening the door to our room.  
  
"Hey." he replies in his raspy voice, smiling a little from his position in the chair by the window. "Guess what? Jess just got himself a maybe-date with that girl, Gin."  
  
"Good for Jess. He needs a love other than cars"  
  
"He'll never get one as good as I've got."  
  
I smile at him and walk over to the chair. "Oh yeah?" I ask coyly, as I sit on his lap, my back to him. He wraps his arm around me and his chin is on my shoulder.  
  
"Yeah." He replies, kissing my neck.  
  
I turn around to face him, switching my position so now I'm straddling him. Our heads come together, almost violently, in a passionate kiss. Our tongues pause, not meeting, but then they find each other and dance together, almost delicately. The kiss goes from rough to gentle, still with the same amount of passion. I rub my hands around his head and to the back of his neck.  
  
We pull back for air and just stare at each other. I am completely in love with this man. He stands and I slide off of his lap, still staring. His eyes are so soulful; I could stare at him for hours. He suddenly takes my face in his hands and kisses me again. My hands rest on his hips, pulling him nearer to me, and then his stomach, as our tongues find each other once again. He picks me up gently by the waist and carries me to the bed.  
  
He sits down on the smooth dark sheets and, my knees bent under me, I straddle him again. We continue our kiss and I pull him closer. Then he breaks away, and tugs at the end of my shirt, pulling it over my head. He unfastens my jeans and slides them off my legs, leaving me in only my lacy purple bra and bikini. Dom tries to pull me into another embrace, but I pull away, walking across the room. I know I'm killing him by the way he's eyeing me. Teasing him is too much fun.  
  
"Letty," He growls. "Come here."  
  
"I need a little incentive?" I smile.  
  
He laughs and runs over to me, throws me over his shoulder and tosses me on the bed. Dom stands there panting over top of me, so I sit up and pull his wifebeater over his head. I rub my hands across his chest, sliding them down to his pants. He lies down next to me, as I roll over onto him....................  
  
Next Morning:  
  
I wake with Dom's arm around me, holding me close to him. I'm tucked into the curvature of his body. This is my favorite place to be, just lying here in the arms of Dom. I maneuver myself so I can see the clock, 8:00. Time to get up. I remove his arm and he stirs. Rubbing his bald head, I whisper in his ear. "Wake up sleepyhead. It's 8:00. Time to get up." He growls and pulls me in for a kiss. Stretching, I grab a towel and head to the bathroom down the hall. I take a quick shower, and Dom heads in after me. I pass Jesse in the hall and he's all smiles. I think I just heard him humming to himself. iWow, he must really like Gin/i. I go back into my room, put on a black bra and panties under a navy wifebeater and mechanic wash carpenter jeans, slipping on some martini boxers as an afterthought. I fasten my dog tag and cuffs quickly.  
  
I begin to make my way downstairs and meet Mia in the kitchen. Pulling my still-damp hair into a braid, I sit down at the table and rub the sleep out of my eyes.  
  
"Morning sunshine." She greets me cheerfully.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. It's awful bright." I mumble. She hands me a glass of orange juice and I gulp it down, not realizing how thirsty I am.  
  
"Hey Let," Mia asks in a funny tone.  
  
"Huh?" I don't look up.  
  
"Will you do me a big favor?"  
  
"Sure, I guess."  
  
"Can you work Toretto's for me today? Please?" She adds when I start to say no.  
  
"Aww, Mia, I was just getting' the feel of that Civic and it's Saturday! Why can't you do it?"  
  
"Cuz Dom wants me to do the garage orders and all the other stuff he hasn't gotten to. It's getting really backed up."  
  
"Well, can't one of the guys do the store? Leon maybe?" I think about this for a moment. "No, yeah I guess I'll do it. But you owe me!"  
  
"Thanks." Mia gives me a hug. " Open it at about 9:00, would ya? I've got to go to the garage now and get started on this paperwork."  
  
She leaves and I pour out some cereal for myself. I gulp down about half a bowl of Special K, and decide to head to Toretto's early. I hop in my 240- SX and cruise overI open the metal cage and then the sliding doors, hopping overtop of the counter and hitting the light switch. What to do, what to do? I spy a stack of car magazines in the back room, and head over to find out of Dom picked up the latest issue of Road and Track. I'm trying to decide whether to just bring the whole stack to the front, when I hear the front bell ring.  
  
"Mia?" I hear a voice ring out.  
  
"No, she's not working today." I reply, walking to the front. To my surprise it's Gin. "Hey girl, What's shakin'?"  
  
"Not much, Letty." She smiles at me. She has amazing cheekbones. If she were a couple inches taller, she could be a model. "I just wanted to know if Mia wanted to come swimming with me or something. Maybe you do?"  
  
"Sorry I can't. Mia somehow convinced me to work the store for her today. You can find her at DT downtown. She's working for Dom today, getting all the paperwork filed away."  
  
"Ahh, well ok. I won't bother her then. Since I'm here though, ya think I could grab a water?"  
  
"Sure, sure. In the back case. Stay a while. I don't have anything to do Iall/I day."  
  
"Ok, I don't really have anywhere to be today, until tonight. My dad's hosting this swank party, for completely airhead, rich people he works with. The only purpose is to get drunk and to talk about each other behind their backs. This is my one obligation though. He makes me go every year. It's a small price to pay to be free the other 364 days of the year, and at least there's an open bar." She smiles and rolls her eyes. "God, I'd rather have your life. Or Mia's life, or Jesse's life, anybody's! Just not my own!" She sighs. "Sorry I'm complaining."  
  
"That's ok. It's just your life sounds pretty interesting. Tell me about it. I need some excitement cuz today's gonna be reaaaaalllly long without any."  
  
"Umm, ok." She says, quieting a bit. II wonder why/I. "What do you want to know?"  
  
"I don't know, start from the beginning. Where you grew up, family, what you're into. All that stuff. You seem like a girl with a really interesting life, and I wanna know." I feel like I'm prying a bit, but I can't help myself. Curiousity killed the cat, yes, but it still had 8 more lives!  
  
" Well ....ok." She relents. "U-" Gin's cell phone rings. "Yeah?" She says. "Oh yeah Jack...Yeah, well don't worry, it won't be that bad....Oh..What?....Are you that bad?...Shit, sorry. Of course you are...Well, yeah it's ok..What else can I do?....Sure.....No, don't worry....Yeah, I'll survive.....See ya Monday, maybe?....ok...yeah....adios hermano." She sighs.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"My friend Jack. He's got strep throat. He was going to be my 'date' to tonight's 'gala.' I'd ask Tristan, but I know he's away for the weekend, and his very possessive gf might get the wrong idea. Arghh."  
  
"That sucks."  
  
"Well, wait a minute. Maybe one of your friends would like to go. I know Dom and Brian are attached to you chicas bonitas, but maybe one of the other guys would come? No pressure, just as friends and all. I know I don't know you guys well at all, but I'll get shit from my dad and all the snobby, shit-faced ladies that go if I don't bring a date of some sort."  
  
Ihaha This is perfect for Jess/I "Actually, I think one of them would definitely go." I smile, but try not to give too much away.  
  
"That's great! Oh, god, now this is going to sound so wrong, but trust me, my dad will bring it up. It's the whole muscley, garage-guy, tattoo-style he's got a problem with. I know these guys are sweethearts, but he's completely stuck-up and likes guys only 'from the finest families,' whatever that means. They'd have to kind of clean up a little. My god, I can't believe im asking you this!" she blushes. "I'm being so invasive and pushy! I'm so sorry! Here, just forget the whole thing."  
  
"No, no, don't worry. We'll deal with it. And I happen to know a certain guy named Jesse would flip to go with you. Don't tell him I told you though, or I might turn up sleepin' with the fishes!" I laugh. She does too. "He probably has a shirt, coat, and tie somewhere in the way back of his closet."  
  
"Great! Where is he? I'll go ask him. If he says no, I'm going to kill you!" She lightly punches my shoulder, then turns around and drives off to go ask Jesse. 


	7. A true gentleman

~Virginia's POV~ I walk up the front steps of Dom's house. Oh God, what if he says no. That would be embarrassing. I knock on the metal frame of the screen door and walk inside. "Hello?" I call out.  
  
"In here." A couple voices call from the kitchen.  
  
"Hey guys." I greet Leon and Vince, who are lounging in the kitchen, eating cereal. "I was looking for Jesse?"  
  
Leon grins and nudges Vince. Vince glares at him. "He's upstairs. Go on up if you like."  
  
"Thanks guys." As I walk up the stairs, I can hear Leon chuckling to himself, "Damn, dawg." Vince laughs as well. "Guess she's sprung on him too."  
  
Wow. Jesse likes me a lot? I'm not sure how to take that, whether to freak and run, but subconsciously, I just start to hop up and down. I didn't know I liked him that much! I continue up the stairs until I hear noises coming from behind the only closed door. "Jess?" I call. "Is that you?"  
  
"Yeah. Mia?"  
  
"No, it's Gin."  
  
"Oh!" I hear fumbling and I think he's putting his pants on. He opens the door, his hair tousled and bare-chested. My heart skips for a moment. He looks so innocent and, well, gorgeous.  
  
"Hey? This is going to sound very odd, but I was talking to Letty this morning at the store, and my friend Jack called me on my cell. He was supposed to be my date tonight for this stupid gala thing my dad's holding, but he got sick. And I know I barely know you, but I figured I might be able to take you up on last night's offer?"  
  
"Offer?" Oh god, he's so cute when he's confused.  
  
"Yeah..you asked if we could get together sometime. This could be sometime?" I hope he doesn't say no, or I'll be incredibly embarrassed.  
  
A light kind of comes to his face. "Sure." He smiles. "Where do I need to be at what time and all that shit?"  
  
"Ok, its coat and tie. Let said you probably have one around somewhere. Just be at 423 Anderson Court at around 8:00. It's a big yellow house, can't miss it."  
  
"Yeah." He smiles again. I have an urge to kiss him, but I resist.  
  
"Alright see, you then. Just ring the bell."  
  
I walk down the stairs, smiling to myself. He's so adorable! Now I've got to go make sure my dress is pressed for tonight. I drive home in anticipation.  
  
LATER, 7:30 pm  
  
~Jesse's POV~ My palms are sweaty. Vince was going to help me gel my hair, but Mia wouldn't let him. I look so out of place in this suit. "I can't believe she asked me to be her date at this party. She's a freakin' rich girl, with all the class in the world." I say to Mia and Leon in the kitchen. Dom just smiles at me, almost proudly.  
  
"Don't be nervous, Jess, You look adorable." I try to glare at her. "Er.you look rugged and...and manly!" Vince almost spits his drink at that.  
  
"I'm going before you guys give me any more grief." I walk out the front door, hop into the Jetta, and drive to her house. " 417, 419, 421, 423. Here it is." My jaw drops as I step out of the car at this mammoth of a house. It's decorated with twinkly lights along the balcony and in the manicured bushes in the front. The house must be 4 stories!  
  
I almost leave, but then imagine a disappointed Gin and get out of the car. Walking up the front steps, I keep pricking myself on the flower I've brought her. I put my sore finger up to the bell, and a maid answers.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I'm Jesse, I'm here for Gin, um, Virginia?"  
  
"Let me go get her." She says. I walk inside the house. It's even more impressive from the interior. A gigantic chandelier hangs in the front hallway, and an elegant banistered staircase curves upward. From another room comes Gin. She's looking amazing in a red cocktail dress, her brown hair down and curly. She's so beautiful, so thin. When she walks up to me, even with her strappy, heeled shoes, she's a good head shorter.  
  
"Hey." She smiles sincerely. "I'm glad you came. These people are going to drive you nuts in a little while." People spilled all over the downstairs. In every room, elegant, well-dressed adults are talking and sipping Cosmos, and other drinks. I hand her the flower and she puts her arm around my waist. She stands on her toes to whisper in my ear. "You look adorable. I love the ruffled hair."  
  
As we walk around the downstairs, she tells me about all the guests and their scandals. "That's Marge." She points to an elegant blonde in a long black dress. "Give her a couple more martinis and she'll be falling all over everyone. And that, " She points to a tall grey-haired man hanging onto a young beautiful blonde, in a low cut shirt, and unbelievably short skirt. "is my father. The bastard himself." She frowns. "That's actually a different girl from this morning. I saw him go into the pool house with a brunette earlier." She points out other people and their drunken habits. I laugh, but keep thinking back to her expression upon seeing her father with another girl.  
  
"Virginia darling, How are you? You look stunning!" A tall, brunette with a large string of pearls and many diamond rings puts a hand in Gin's shoulder. "And who is this charming man who's escorting you?"  
  
I look a little bewildered. Upon seeing my face, Gin almost laughs but regains her composure. "This, is Jesse. He's my, well he's a friend of a friend." She offered no more explanation and the woman nodded.  
  
"Well, you two look picturesque. How long have you been dating?"  
  
"We aren't dating Linda, we're just good friends."  
  
The lady smiles and winks at Gin, going off to down another drink.  
  
"Sorry I didn't offer more information, but if I said anything, she would twist it so that we had been dating for 6 months and were thinking of marriage after college." I laugh. "Do you want to go get a drink?"  
  
I nod fervently, and she leads me over to a bar manned by a few men dressed in tuxedos and white gloves. "Hey Jon." She greets him. He smiles at her. " Vodka for me and, for you?"  
  
"Uhh, rum and Coke ,I guess?" I try to smile, knowing I only want a corona.  
  
"Nice try, Virginia. How would your father feel about my serving you two alcohol." She stares in surprise. "Ok, ok, he wouldn't give a 'flying fuck' as you so aptly put it last time, but I could get in serious trouble for serving alcohol to minors."  
  
She leans over the counter and pulls a $50 out of a box. Then she slips it into his breast pocket. "Vodka." She repeats. "The bottle and a shot glass. And I'll throw in another $50, if you make this guy's a Corona." The bartender smiles and does as Gin instructs. We take our drinks up the back stairs and she leads me to a game room, with a sofa and chairs on the side. She slides into one of the chairs, kicks off her shoes, and takes a shot from the Absolut bottle. I collapse onto the couch with my Corona.  
  
"Your life. is very different from mine." I say, not knowing what else to do.  
  
"Yeah, and it SUCKS. A hell of a lot more than yours does. Everyone around here is phony. My father the biggest one of all." She keeps drinking from the bottle, the shot glass set on the table next to her. "Sorry but I'm aimed to get a little sloshed. I just want to escape from these parties."  
  
"We could leave?"  
  
"No, my dad has me on watch. I always used to escape, but now he's got people guarding all the exits."  
  
"Oh, ok."  
  
"So Jess, tell me about your life. How did all of your friends meet up?"  
  
"Well," I start, sitting her on my lap. "Dom and Mia are, as you know, brother and sister. And, Vince grew up with Dom. They've known each other forever, something like since they were 8 or 9. Brian, he's more of a recent addition. He came around the store a lot to see Mia. We found out he knew about cars." I don't offer any more explanation for Brian. I don't know if anyone should know. "Letty, well she's always been around, like Vince. She grew up down the street, always loved Dom. He finally fell in love too, when she was 16. And then a little while later, Leon and I showed up. We'd been friends before, and I don't know, I was browsing Harry's store-he owns The Racer's Edge downtown-and Leon was around there with me, helping Harry bring parts to the front, and Dom needed help so I helped him. He invited us to a barbecue, and we've been at the garage ever since. My parents were no good. Leon's weren't either. Moms left our families, my dad's in jail."  
  
"I know how that goes." Gin's drunk a lot of the vodka by now. Any normal girl her size would be long gone. "I hate him...SO MUCH." She slams the bottle onto the table next to her. I think she's starting to feel the effects.  
  
"Why?"  
  
She starts to shake a little and when she looks up, I see tears rolling down her face. I go to her and carry her to sit on the couch next to me. "What is it?"  
  
"I hate him. He's such a jackass." I just sit there with her as she starts to talk. I know she's only telling me because she's drunk a lot of Absolut Kurant, but I want to know. "I told Mia about my mom already. She was killed, when I was 13, by a drunk driver. She doesn't know that the drunk driver was my dad." I stare in shock at the floor, staying silent. This poor girl. "He was driving home from a party, wouldn't let my mom drive of course, and he was sloshed. I was in the back, driver's side. He hit a rough patch on the road, or something, and went into a spin, slamming the passenger side into a wall. My mom died on impact. Not once has he said he was sorry. He didn't even go to the funeral. And through the course of his marriage to my mom, he had mistress after mistress."  
  
" I'm sorry Gin, I really am."  
  
"Yeah. He also..well, I can't say it was all his fault, be he was definitely the start. He caused me to go into a sortof downward spiral, you could say. He always brought home pretty, young, skinny-as-a-pin girlfriends, and would constantly tell me I was too large, that I needed to lose a little pudge here or there. He also told me if I wasn't careful what I ate, I'd turn out like my mother. She was never fat, and neither was I. I'm 5'6 and I weighed, what 105 lbs? But when you're 13, just starting to change, you're confused, insecure. I was anorexic, and Sam, the auto shop teacher at my school told the school counselor. He kind of caught me before I completely fell. I was something like 82 lbs. Sick skinny. I owe her my life, but it went on for a long time. Years, till I was 15."  
  
"Gin, how can you stay here when he did those things? I would have killed him."  
  
"Yeah, well I handled it differently. I was icy, put up a front around everyone. I think Jack was the only one who knew me, really knew me. He told Sam."  
  
"What was your mother like?"  
  
"She was great. She was one of the party crowd, drinkers like the ones downstairs, but she was a great mother. So much fun. Mi madre was Brazilian, but she grew up in Costa Rica and Mexico, so she spoke Spanish, which is where I learned it. My father flips when I speak it in this house. He doesn't want any memories of her, any guilt to spoil his life. When I was younger, I loved my life. I didn't understand that money couldn't buy happiness."  
  
"How can all this have happened to such a young girl. You're so strong, Gin. I mean how do you do it?"  
  
"Like this." She smiles and kisses me. I kiss her for a second, but push her away. This isn't right. Any other time I would, but she's drunk. I can't take advantage of her. She probably wouldn't do this under normal circumstances.  
  
"Gin. No. Not now." She stares at me for a second, her green eyes looking hurt, and the flashing with anger.  
  
"Fine! Go, now!" She stumbles out of the room. I don't know what else to do, but leave.  
  
SATURDAY, ONE WEEK LATER, MID-DAY:  
  
I'm in the office in DT. I didn't tell the guys what happened, even though they hounded me for info. I don't think she'd want me to tell them. Working on some specs for an Altima that came in for repairs, I hear an engine turn off. Figuring it's Mia with lunch I continue to work on the specs. In a moment, the office door opens up. Gin stands there, in all her beauty, looking completely different than last week. She still looks amazing, but she's not hung over or stumbling.  
  
She comes up to me an says softly, " I'm sorry about the party. I was drunk. I told you things I shouldn't have told you. I'd appreciate it if you don't tell your friends what I told you. And I'm sorry for kissing you. Obviously, you don't feel the same way about me as I do about you. I guess I'll see you around." She turns away and starts to walk out the door. I grab her wrist and whirl her around. I stare into her eyes for a second and then I put a hand on her cheek, pull her head close, and kiss her like I wanted to that night. Her defiant stance drops and she holds on to the bottom of my wifebeater for support, gripping it until her knuckles are white. I pull back and look into her eyes for an answer. Before I can really get a good look at her, she pulls my body next to hers, her fingers hooked through the belt loops of my jeans. She stands on tiptoe to reach my mouth and we kiss again, deeper this time, with more passion. Our kiss becomes rougher and I open my mouth as her tongue teases mine. We stand there, in our own world of ecstasy, for a few minutes, just enjoying our reunion. When we break apart, I'm shaking. I didn't know she can have that effect on me.  
  
"I do feel that way about you Gin. I, I, I really like you. I didn't kiss you because, well because you were drunk. How was I to know you weren't only doing that because of the bottle of Absolut you downed. Did you even get sick?"  
  
She smiles and shakes her head. "I drink like a fish," she whispers, then turns her head away as she says quietly, "and, I, I didn't just tell you about me because I was drunk. I wanted you to know what kind of a mental case you were getting yourself into. Then when I didn't think you wanted to get yourself into that, I got hurt, which came out as anger."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're a mental case, but you're my mental case!" She grins at that and I kiss her on the tip of her nose.  
  
"Tu eres un caballero, Jesse, un caballero verdadero." ~ You are a gentleman, Jesse, a true gentleman.~  
  
  
  
* OK FEEDBACK PLEASE! I WANT TO KNOW PEOPLE ARE READING THIS!* Oh and sorry if my Spanish is wrong, any corrections would be greatly appreciated! 


	8. After the fact

*First off, I just want to thank Shay, Laura, Eva, Tigerlily, and all the other people who have reviewed! If you want things to happen in this story, email me and I'll try to put them in if they make sense with where I want this story to head. Right now, I've got no idea where it's leading, I write chapter by chapter~!*  
  
  
  
~Letty's POV~ I lie on a dolly and roll back under the Protegé, trying to examine where the leak is coming from. I drop my wrench on my head. "Fuck! Damn oil!" I yell.  
  
Vince rolls across the garage and under the Mazda. "Need help?" He asks with a smile. Guys think they know everything, especially V.  
  
"NO. I'm fine."  
  
"You sure? You've been working on this leak for a looong time."  
  
"Fine. If you're so talented, find it faster!"  
  
"Watch and learn, dollface. Watch and learn."  
  
"Oh, sopleme!" ~Blow me~  
  
"What?"  
  
"Nothing." I roll out from under the car, standing in the shade of the edge of the garage. Sweat-soaked hair has come loose from my ponytail, and gone curly. I tuck it behind my ears, wishing I could just shave my head. It's too hot for hair this long. I don't know how Mia deals with it. She must go crazy. I look around for that giant fan we turn on in crazy hot weather. I remember it's in the office, so I knock and enter. Gin is kneeling next to Jesse who is showing her a computer graphics program.  
  
'Hey guys."  
  
"Hey Let." Jesse answers, not looking up.  
  
"I just came to get the massive fan."  
  
"V hauled it over to Toretto's a couple weeks ago remember? Mia begged him to, and you know he can't resist her."  
  
"Damn. Yeah, now I remember. Well," I look at my cuff watch. "It's almost lunch. Let's just head over and V can put it in the back of his Maxima on the way back."  
  
"K."  
  
We three exit the office, and I tell the guys that we're gonna go get lunch. They decide to come with and we all hop in our cars to drive over to Toretto's.  
  
"Hey guys." Mia greets us, when we pull up. I grab a Chupa-Chups lollipop from the rotating stand on the counter at the back of the store.  
  
"Lunch!" I beg. "Whatcha got?"  
  
"Well, there's turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, ham, tuna, all that stuff. What dya want?"  
  
"Mmm, uhh, turkey, lettuce."  
  
"Tuna," comes Brian's order. Big Surprise!  
  
"Right, right. Dom?"  
  
"Nothing." He says, his voice gruffer than usual. Mia looks at me and I shrug. Dom's moody, I don't know what's going on.  
  
"V? Jess? Gin? Leo?"  
  
"Grilled cheese!" Leon and Jesse say in sync. They laugh and high-five each other. Gin rolls her eyes.  
  
"Just turkey."  
  
"V?"  
  
"Uhhh, I dunno, ham and cheese."  
  
"k, just chill a bit guys, it'll take a while."  
  
I hop over the counter and pull the cd player onto the counter. Opening the cd case next to it, I pull out a mix. "Rollin (Urban Assault Vehicle Remix)" blares from the speakers.  
  
"Haha yeah!" I yell. I start to dance around and grab Dom. He pushes me away. I glare at him.  
  
"God Dom. Sorry."  
  
"I'm goin' for a walk," He tells Mia. I just stare after him.  
  
"What the hell was that about?" I ask.  
  
"Just let him be for a whle, Let. He'll cool off."  
  
"No. I want to know what the fuck is up." I walk after him out of the store. He's got a head start on me, but I jog after him. My anger diminishes as I see the frown on his face. I want to know what's wrong and I also want to make it go away. "Hey," I say softly, touching his shoulder. He jumps a little.  
  
"Oh hey." He says.  
  
"What the fuck was up back there? Why'd you push me away?"  
  
"I'm on edge, Letty. You can see that."  
  
"Yeah..?"  
  
"Just let me alone for a while. I need to think."  
  
"Why won't you tell me what's wrong." I know I'm pushing it and I really shouldn't be. He looks at me, his eyes flashing.  
  
"Damn it Letty, just STOP! For once! Let it go."  
  
"FINE!" I yell. Why do I do this? How stupid and stubborn am I? I walk back to the store, tell Mia I'll see her later and drive to the beach. There's a secluded spot the guys and I found when we were 12. I come here when I need a place to chill. I'd rather be under a car, but I don't want to be near anyone right now.  
  
* What's going to happen?? REVIEW!!!! Haha!* ~K 


	9. the accident

~Dom's POV~  
  
Fuck! What am I going to do? Now Letty's mad at me. I've got this huge weight on my chest from all the worrying I've been doing in the last half hour.  
  
"I've got to find her." I say quietly. Thinking to myself where she would go, I realize. She'd go to our place, where she always goes when we fight.  
  
I go back to the store and peel out in my car. I need to talk to someone, to her, about this. How am I going to tell Gin? How will she take it? Will she cry? Will she hurt herself?  
  
Jumbled thoughts swirl through my head. I've got to break some of the biggest news to a girl I don't really know. Letty's mad at me and I hate it. Even having her mad at me for a few minutes, I can't take it. Damn stubborn Letty! I'm just as stubborn. Shifting into 5th, I race along the shoreline, looking for the rock that marks our spot. Spying it, I almost do a donut in my hurry to park. I get out of the car and walk onto the beach, combing it with my eyes for a tan figure dressed in leather. I see her boots sitting on a rock, but I don't see her. Then, I see her clothes a little farther down. She must be in the water.  
  
She surfaces and I watch her swim, ride the waves with her body. She's so beautiful and she takes on a whole new beauty when wet. Suddenly, I get the crazy urge to go to her. I slip off my wife beater and boots, then remove my pants so I'm standing only in my boxers. She doesn't see me as I run into the water and surface behind her. She flings her hair into my face and I take in her scent. I grab her waist and she yelps, turning around to me very surprised.  
  
I brush a few strands of hair from her cheek and kiss her passionately. She pulls back, frowning and looks at me. She seems about to say something, but then pulls me closer and we kiss again. After we can't tread water anymore, we retire to the beach. My back is against the hot rock that marks our spot and hers is to my chest. We sit there, watching the sun go down, in perfect harmony, until I remember why we fought in the first place.  
  
"Let?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"The reason I was so angry this afternoon.well, I got a call."  
  
"From who?"  
  
"Well, it was kind of an accident." "What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, Gin left her cell in her bag that she left in the garage when she went to talk to Jess. It rang, and she didn't seem to hear it so I figured I needed to pick it up. I answered it and it was her friend Jack. He told me there'd been an accident."  
  
"What kind of accident?" She asks turning around and sitting up.  
  
"Gin..Gin's dad. Well..Let, he died."  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
"I. that's what Jack said. He said that her dad was in a car accident. His, his blood alcohol level was 1.6. He was driving too fast and just slammed into a tree."  
  
"Oh my god." Letty hugged me tightly and I wrapped my arms around her delicate body.  
  
"How do I tell Gin? I mean, what the hell is she going to do?"  
  
"She hates him. I know that much. I don't know. Maybe Jess should tell her. He wouldn't have the heart though."  
  
"I think I should just tell her and get it over with."  
  
We dress and ride separately back to the house. Everyone's sitting around the living room, laughing at the Jackie Chan movie playing.  
  
"Look who's back!" Leon laughs. When neither of us smile or even glare, he stops laughing. "What's wrong?"  
  
"I need to talk to Gin now." I say.  
  
"Ok, what's up?" She smiles.  
  
"Maybe you want to hear this in the kitchen."  
  
"No, I'm ok here." She says, not understanding.  
  
"Gin, today your cell rang while you were in the office. I answered it and it was your friend Jack calling. He said your dad had been in an accident." I paused, looking at her. Her face was expressionless. "He, he had a little too much to drink and crashed his car into a tree. He died on impact. I'm so sorry."  
  
"No soy arrepentido. El fue un cabrón. Necesito salir de aquí. Yo se veré luego." ~ I'm not sorry. He was a bastard. I need to get out of here. I'll see you later. ~  
  
"Gin," Jesse starts to get up and follow her.  
  
"Ah y Letty? Dice Jesse, no ahora, y yo lo llamaré." ~ Oh, and Letty? Tell Jesse, not now, and I will call him. ~  
  
She walks out the room, her face masked of emotion. Letty tells us what she said. "I'm going." Jesse says.  
  
"I don't think that's a good idea, Jess." Letty warns him,  
  
"Trust me, Let. If you knew half the stuff he did to her while she was alive...She needs someone." He runs to his car to follow her. 


	10. Author's Note

I'm going to take some wise advice and slow down the story. I was just so eager to get all my ideas out and into the story that I rushed everything. I'm going to work on being a lot more descriptive in the story so be patient. I've got the rest of winter break to work on it! 


	11. the beach

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the lyrics to Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" or Tonic's "If You Could Only See."  
  
~Jesse's POV~ By the time I get out the door, the only sign of her car is the lingering dirt cloud in the driveway. I'm worried about her. I don't know her well enough to know what she would do. I try to pull my keys out of my pocket quickly and drop them on the stairs.  
  
"Shit." I mumble and stoop to pick them up. "Where would she go." I say to noone in particular. I run through the places where I know she hangs out. "She probably won't go back to her house.Maybe the garage? No. Toretto's? Noone's there. Her school? Maybe.The beach? Could be. " Hell, I have no idea. I guess I'll just start at her school? I turn onto the road, out of the driveway, and zip off.  
  
~Letty's POV~ We all sit in the living room in front of the TV. I'm not sure what's playing anymore, because I stopped watching a long time ago. I'm a little stunned at Gin's attitude towards her father's death. I think we all are.  
  
"Guys, come on." Dom says, his voice raspy. "We can't sit here like this. It's strange. We barely know this girl and tragedies are always hard to deal with. We all know about that. Let's just try to act normally." He turns the TV to the movie, Rush Hour 2, then sits down next to me, encircling me with his arms. I curl into a ball, feeling the warmth of his embrace, and tuck my head to his chest. I can feel his breath dancing across my head and he plays with a strand of my hair. I study his wide palm, twice as big as my own. His rough, callused hands can still deliver the gentlest touch. I trace the lines of his hand with my small index finger. Leon starts to guffaw and Vince gruffly laughs at the movie and it brings me back to my surroundings.  
  
"Don't stop till you get enough! Come on!" I here from the television as well as a less-melodic version escaping Leon's lips in a gentle southern drawl. I can't help but giggle and I feel Dom's stomach rise and fall rhythmically with his chuckling.  
  
"What?" Leon looks around with a cheesy grin  
  
"Nothin' man." Brian says with a grin on his face. "Nothin'. You're a great singer." Mia lets out a small shriek of laughter and hits Brian's chest. He almost spills his Corona on Vince so V grabs the bottle and downs it in one gulp, smiling devilishly when finished. Brian holds up his hands in defeat.  
  
~Gin's POV~ I get out of my car slowly, forcing myself to breathe. I guess you could say I feel emotionally overwhelmed right now. I've never been great at handling death, usually I just pretend it never happened, but I can't with this. My own father..I don't know how I feel. One moment, I'm completely glad, filled with so much relief that I'm almost elated. The next moment, I'm overcome with considerable grief. As soon as I walk onto the sand, I fall to my knees with a weakness washing over me. I yelp at the suddenness of it all and the tears start to flow from my eyes. I make no sounds, but the tears steadily trickle down my face. I reach my tongue out to catch the hot salty drops as they make their way towards my chin.  
  
Slowly I crawl towards a big rock and sit with my back to it, the only thing lighting the sky being the stars and the crescent moon. I pull a lighter out of my pocket that I found downstairs at my house and spin the wheel until it lights. I grip it with the last strength I've got in my body. For some reason, a few words escape my lips.  
  
// Another turning point  
  
A fork stuck in the road  
  
Time grabs you by the wrist  
  
Directs you where to go  
  
So make the best of this test  
  
And don't ask why  
  
It's not a question  
  
But a lesson learned in time  
  
It's something unpredictable  
  
But in the end is right  
  
I hope you had the time of your life //  
  
~Jesse's POV~ Silently, from the hood of my car, I watch her cry. It wasn't hard to find her once I saw she wasn't at her school. Her bright yellow Integra was parked at the first stretch of secluded beach. I want to help her, but I know this is a personal battle that I will never fully understand. I listen as her voice starts to melodically drift to hell and back in the form of a Green Day song.  
  
// So take the photographs  
  
And still frames in your mind  
  
Hang it on a shelf in  
  
Good health and good time  
  
Tattoos of memories  
  
And dead skin on trial  
  
For what it's worth  
  
It was worth all the while  
  
It's something unpredictable  
  
But in the end is right  
  
I hope you had the time of your life //  
  
She pauses and the only sound I can hear is the waves lapping their foamy tongues at the beach. Gin switches her position to her stomach and sighs audibly.  
  
// It's something unpredictable  
  
But in the end is right  
  
I hope you had the time of your life It's something unpredictable  
  
But in the end is right  
  
I hope you had the time of your life //  
  
Her voice is so beautiful and I feel I can almost touch her soul when she is singing. Though the words aren't her own, the passion is evident. I can hear a quiet whimpering as the song ends. A passing car blares new music. She hears it too.  
  
~Gin's POV~ I don't know why I'm singing, but it seems to be helping. The weight on my shoulders is lifting and the aching in my heart subsides a little. A convertible parks a little way down the coast and the music from the radio drifts back. I start to sing along to Tonic, quietly, changing the words to fit my own situation..  
  
// If you could only see the way he loves me  
  
Then maybe you would understand  
  
Why I feel this way about our love and what I must do  
  
If you could only see how blue his eyes can be when he says  
  
When he says he loves me Well you got your reasons  
  
and you got your lies  
  
And you got your manipulations  
  
they cut me down to size Sayin' you love but you don't  
  
you give your love but you won't //  
  
~Jesse's POV~ I laugh, but quickly silence myself when she turns towards the sound. She changed the lyrics. How cute is that!  
  
// If you could only see the way she loves me  
  
Then maybe you would understand  
  
Why I feel this way about our love and what I must do  
  
If you could only see how blue her eyes can be when she says  
  
When she says she loves me Seems the road less traveled  
  
Shows happiness unraveled  
  
And you got to take a little dirt to keep what you love  
  
That's what you gotta do Sayin' you love but you don't  
  
You give your love but you won't  
  
You're stretching out your arms to something that's just not there  
  
Sayin' you love where you stand  
  
Give your heart when you can //  
  
I take off my beanie, run a hand through my scruffy hair, and throw it at her. She jumps in surprise dropping the lighter she holds, standing at the same time. I can see her wiping her tear-stained face as she looks around for the owner. I'm hidden by a few bushes, but can see her smile when she realizes who's hat it is. She quickly climbs the stairs to the walk next to the beach and sees me sitting on the hood of my Jetta, parked next to her Integra.  
  
Brushing the sand off her legs and arms, she walks over to me. I move over a little so she can sit on the hood as well. She surprises me by throwing the beanie at me and then leaping into my arms on the hood. I hug her tightly and I can feel her shaking all of a sudden. She takes in air jerkily, in halting breaths and I feel the back of my shirt become wet with her tears.  
  
"Shh. Shh." I try and soothe her.  
  
"It just, it just." She blurts, taking her head from my shoulder and curling into a ball. "I'm so confused. I don't know whether I'm relieved he's gone or sad that I'll never have a chance to change him."  
  
I just listen, knowing that's all I can do.  
  
She stretches out of the fetal position and grabs my shirt, pulling me within an inch of her face. "Thank you for coming after me." She says, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's nice to know you care." With that she plants a gentle kiss on my lips, lets go of my shirt, and collapses, her head in my lap. Her eyes closed, I start to run my fingers through her hair, working out every tangle and just watching her drift into a sleep. When she finally settles, I gently lift her off the hood and place her in the horizontally-stretched passenger seat of my Jetta. I drive home, promising her mentally to come get her Integra the next day. All I can do when I reach Dom's house is carry her up the stairs to my room and place her softly in my bed next to me. Shutting the door to the sounds of the movie downstairs, I strip into my boxers and lie down next to the angel already there.  
  
~Dom's POV~ Jesse comes in the front door, holding a sleeping Gin. At least, I hope she's sleeping. He carries her up the stairs, with only a cursory glance at the living room. I pick up the remote and lower the volume of the TV. Mia and Brian are asleep anyway. V's looking a little drunk, and Leon's still going full-speed. I glance at Letty, who's still curled in my arms. She's watching the TV intently. I feel her laugh, and she glances up to see if I'm laughing too.Peace settles over me. Everything is right with the world, or as right as it will ever get with my odd family. 


	12. water fight

~Gin's POV~  
  
I wake suddenly, jerking my head up. Where am I? Then I realize that I'm definitely not in my own house. I shiver at the slight breeze coming through the window ajar on the left side of the room. The cold is almost counteracted by warm breaths of air dispersing over my bare arm.  
  
My gaze drifts to the ever-ruffled, blonde head of hair sleeping deeply next to me. I smile and watch him for a minute. I hope I look as beautiful as he does when I sleep. Most likely, my hair is a mess and I have drool on the pillow.  
  
Slowly, my reason for being here dawns on me. I rub the sleep out of my eyes, as if trying to erase the events from my memory. I mentally tell myself I'm not going to think about it now and rest my head on the cool pillowcase, next to Jesse. I face him, my lips so close to his. His lips, so soft and pink, hold amazing stories, amazing kisses, if I could make it past his shell.  
  
The rhythmic breathing of a rem cycle ceases and his eyes open...beautiful eyes.  
  
"Hey," his voice cracks slightly. "You're awake."  
  
"Good call." I smile and he grins for a second. Then he drifts off to sleep once more. I also close my eyes and fall blissfully into a deep slumber, laced with dreams of cars, a happy reunion with Austin, school, and Jesse's ruffled hair.  
  
I don't wake again until mid-morning. As soon as I fully regain my senses, I realize what I have to do today. The room is empty of Jess so I have a little privacy. Reaching for the phone on the bedside table, I call the only one person I need to. Austin.  
  
"Hi, This is Virginia O'Day. I need to reach Captain Braddock?.. Oh, ok....Well, could you give him a message? Yes, tell him Virginia O'Day is calling for Austin O'Day. His father has passed away and if possible, he needs to be home by Tuesday. Thank you." My lip trembles as I say these words, but my anxiety passes as soon as I stop talking. I hang up the phone, stretch, and walk out the door of Jesse's room, looking for signs of life. I meet Brian on the stairs and he puts an arm around my shoulder.  
  
"How you doin' kid?" He says with a grin.  
  
I playfully punch him "Kid, eh, kid? I'm a lil' better, old man. I've called the one person that I need to. I thought about it last night on the beach, and it's best to....to not have a wake and a traditional funeral. We're pretty much the only relatives that would come to his funeral. He was an only child and both his parents are gone. I think we'll just, well, bury him. I really need to get home. I haven't even talked to the police, but I'm sure they've hounded Jack and the staff to death!"  
  
He nods, but I know he doesn't have a clue who those people are. "You know what you need?"  
  
"What?" I ask.  
  
With this he slings me over his shoulder and runs down the stairs. I start to yell for help.  
  
"Jesse!" When I don't see him around, I yell for anyone. " Leon! Vince! Oh V! Help, Come on V!" Vince is laughing uncontrollably as Brian starts to tickle me. He throws me on the coach and Vince joins in. Leon just sits there smiling.  
  
"Mia! MIIIAAAA!!!" I yell desperately, giggling like a five year old. She runs in from the kitchen, sees what's happening and grabs me from their clutches. Breathing hard, and still laughing, I manage to get out a thanks. "Do you have any water guns?" I whisper to her as she leads me towards the kitchen.  
  
"Yeah. I'm sure we do. Hmm, where did I.... Ohh!! I remember. Wait here!" She goes out back and returns a minute later with a cardboard box full of squirt guns and supersoakers. Obviously the team are professionals.  
  
"I want the one with the backpack thingie. Ooh and a little one to put in my shorts. All the secret agents have an extra!" I smile excitedly. We fill ours with water and a couple extras. "Where's Letty?"  
  
"I think she's outside. She said she was going to check on her engine coolant or something. Jess is with her. And Dom went to the.oh never mind, he's back." Mia corrects herself as she hears the front door open and close. Immediately she chucks the water guns into the box and I run to sit on it.  
  
"Mia, what are you doin' in here?"  
  
"Nothing Dom. Hey tell Letty to come here for a minute."  
  
"Why can't you tell her?"  
  
"Please Dom?" Mia bats her eyelashes and pouts.  
  
"Fine, " Dom grumbles. "Hey Let!" He yells out the back. "Mia wants you in the kitchen." Dom walks back into the living room where the guys are congregated around the TV.  
  
"What Mi?" She asks, hanging off the doorframe.  
  
"Shh, come here." Mia giggles and hands her a supersoaker. "Alright on three..One...Two...Three."  
  
We all start running into the living room and pounding the guys with water. "Ahhhhhh!!" Leon and Vince try and grab the guns from Mia and me but we hold on tight. My gun has so much water in the backpack that I won't have to refill for a while. Letty is chasing Dom out the door with a supersoaker in each hand. That's when I remember Jesse. He's outside, missing all.....the...Frickin......FUN! Suddenly I turn and run from my squirting Brian and go out the back door. Sneaking around the edge of the house, I see his feet sticking out from under Letty's Nissan. I kick one gently with my bare foot. He doesn't move. I kick him again, hiding the gun behind my back.  
  
"What!" he asks annoyed, rolling out from under the car. "Oh, its you." He smiles. "What's up?"  
  
"Oh not much, I just wanted to.." I'm cut off by Dom's yelling. He runs around the side of the house, soaked and Letty is running after him, laughing evilly.  
  
"Jesse! They've got water guns! Watch out! ROLL UNDER THE CAR!"  
  
It's too late for Jess. As he's trying to understand what Dom's saying, I pull his leg and roll him into the open. Then I shoot him with a cold spray of water. He gets up to run and I follow him down the street and back up, which by this time he's soaked. He finally realizes this and turns on me. I'm almost out of water anyway. I shed the backpack, just holding the gun, which has just enough left in it for another good soak. Jess grabs it from my wet hands and holds me close to him, but I'm facing away. The gun is pointed at my temple.  
  
"You wouldn't!" I say.  
  
"Oh wouldn't I?" He asks. I can tell he's grinning. Suddenly I turn around, and we're so close. If he leaned down a little, our lips would be touching. I can see his eyes closing and he leans in to kiss me. I feel something between my back my pants, remembering the extra gun. Whipping it around, I squirt him directly in the mouth. His yelp of surprise is priceless. I laugh and run away, but the first cold spray of water hits my back and I stop dead for a minute. I can't let him get away with that! Turning on my heel I go back over to him. I stand on tiptoe, about to kiss him, when I'm shot in the stomach.  
  
"I'm gonna make you work for it!..Or at least.. RUN FOR IT!"  
  
My mind races. Where could I run to that he wouldn't want to get soaked..HIS CAR! My eyes light up as I realize. I skid across his hood, and jump into the passenger side of his Jetta. I can see he understands I've beaten him.  
  
He follows me to his car, drops the water gun, and gets in the driver's side himself. He peels out of the driveway, headed for the beach. "We've got to get your car back from the beach." He explains.  
  
It doesn't take too long to get there and he gets out of the car when I do. He walks to my car door with me and before I get in, he grabs my waist, pulling me close. Jesse's definitely not a forceful guy, so it's a little surprising. "Now, you're not pulling any tricks this time." He says and kisses me. His lips are so sweet, just a hint salty and the kiss ends way too soon. Teasing him is too fun, so I grab his beanie, put it on me, and jump in my car before he can protest. We head our separate ways. 


	13. water fight 2

~Dom's POV~  
  
"Jesse! They've got water guns! Watch out! ROLL UNDER THE CAR!" I try to warn him, but it's too late. Gin attacks Jesse and I don't have time to stop and help. Two streams of icy water are constantly cutting into the back of my now-soaked white T-shirt. Letty's been chasing me around the outside of the house for a while now. Every time I try to grab a gun, my hand is kept at bay with more water. If only it weren't so cold! I won't be surprised if I find out she stocked her gun with ice cubes.  
  
Suddenly, I see an opening. The driveway doesn't have someone with a gun in it! I dash onto the sidewalk, high-tailing it down the street. Stopping a few yards down for a breath, I feel the end of a gun in my back. Holding my hands up in defeat, I am pushed into a nearby tree. I turn around the face a child-like grin on Letty's face.  
  
"Not in this position much are ya, Dominic? I've got you cornered!" She laughs girlishly, making me smile. She's never this happy. "Ok, Ok. Here, I'll spray myself." She points the gun at her hair and face, then spraying her white wifebeater, which gets me excited until I can tell she's got a bra on. She smiles, knowing what I was thinking. This girl is too good at teasing me.  
  
I take her wet face in my hands and brush the damp tendrils away from her cheeks. The kiss is tender, yet becomes a little rough as she slips her soft tongue into my mouth and mine battles hers. We both break apart and her eyes are twinkling. Suddenly, I feel a strange sensation and look down to find that Letty has sprayed me-there--with a water gun.  
  
"Oh, now you've done it!"  
  
She shrieks and dashes for the house. I manage to grab the back of her shirt, but she wriggles out of my grasp and around Jesse's Jetta, which is pulling out of the driveway. I wait until it's on the street and then tackle her in the backyard, wrenching both guns from her grasp and soaking her down with the rest if the water. We wrestle in the grass for a moment and I end up flat on my back with her straddling me and pinning my arms, holding the guns, to the ground. We're both breathing hard and just stare at each other for a while. Her eyes are so beautiful, full of life, so deep.  
  
~Brian's POV~  
  
"Ahhhhhh!!" Water from the girls' squirt guns soak me, Dom, Vince, and Leon simultaneously. Letty's sprays send Dom fleeing out the front door. I look over at V and Leon and we all lunge for Mia and Gin's guns We can't wrestle them from their grasps though and just end up getting ourselves soaked even more. Gin dashes out the back door, probably to get Dom the other way around the house, or to get Jesse, who's safehousing it under Let's car.  
  
Now it's Mia against the three of us. She has NO CHANCE, but she doesn't look afraid of a challenge. Leon's had about enough at this point. He rubs a hand across his face and through his wet hair and heads upstairs, away from the sprays of chilly water. While Mia attacks Vince, I sneak around through the hall and grab her waist from behind, pulling her into the kitchen and away from Vince. She's laughing and fighting back, but not much. I can tell she likes this play. I lock eyes with Vince, his face almost sad. Then a small grin breaks. He holds up his hands. "Whatever she wants, man. Whatever she wants." I laugh back, but I can tell behind his smile, he's sad. He really loves her..as much as I do.  
  
Mia breaks my grasp and rushes at Vince with a yell. She knocks him backwards onto the sofa and proceeds to tickle and spray him. Only for her would he put up with it. I'm so lucky she's mine.  
  
I hear a grunt and then a triumphant laugh. "Run, Mia, you better RUN! Hey Leon! Get your ass down here! I got the water gun. Let's get Mia!" Leon comes bounding down the stairs. I grab her as she tries to scoot past again. Leon takes her feet and I take her arms, as we bring her outside. Vince pumps the water gun, and sends a steady stream at Mia, soaking her hair and her clothes, while getting Letty and Dom a little wet as well. The water runs out and we drop Mia, sinking to the ground ourselves, cold, wet, and exhausted, but happy. 


	14. navy man

~Mia's POV~ Monday afternoon  
  
A customer sits at the counter, eating the remains of a sandwich and sipping a can of Sprite. He's tan, muscular, has a shaved head, and is wearing a navy officer's uniform.  
  
The team plus Gin walk towards the store from their respective cars laughing and joking about something. Gin is squinting at the man in the uniform, as if trying to make out his face. Suddenly, before entering the market, she runs and takes a flying leap onto his back. "AUZ!" she shrieks. The man almost topples over. He turns around, swings Gin into his lap and starts to tickle her. She laughs uncontrollably.  
  
Jesse, Mia, the rest of the guys, and I watch this scene with confusion.  
  
"Gin, babygirl! How've you been?" He kisses her cheek and swoops her into a hug.  
  
I see Jesse out of the corner of my eye. His eyes narrow at someone in what he considers his territory. I can't believe he's jealous.  
  
"Chill Jess." I tell him. "Don't go Dom on me."  
  
"Yeah you're right." He mumbles.  
  
"Guys, "Gin begins, "This is Austin, my brother, also known as Auz. Auz, this is Leon, Brian, Letty, Vince, Dom, Mia, who served you your food, and Jesse."  
  
"Hey. " He gives a short wave to us, then turns to Gin. "How you holdin' up hermana? Is there anything left to arrange for....you know. I mean, did you have any trouble?" He seems to really care about Gin's feelings on the matter, but doesn't seem too distraught himself over the actual death.  
  
"Nope, everything is pretty much done. It'll all be over soon...everything. I pretty much dealt with it all yesterday afternoon. Enough of that depressing shit. How long are you on leave? Come on, ya gotta tell me it's for more than a weekend! Did you bring Meghan with you?"  
  
"Sorry Virginia, but I'm only on leave for 3 days. Right after the funeral I ship out. No Megs didn't come with me, but I talked to her right when I came on leave. She's not doing so well with the distance thing. But enough about me, I want to catch up with you! Lets have dinner...tonight?"  
  
"Yeah that'd be good. Tonight. Come to the house about 8:00."  
  
"Alright chica, but I've got to go now. I have to go check in at the hotel. The thought of staying back home just doesn't seem right."  
  
"Bye Auz, see ya later."  
  
He throws his trash away and smartly walks to his rental car. He drives away in the direction of his hotel, Gin watching after his retreating car.  
  
"So you have a brother huh?" Let says.  
  
"Yeah, Auz is 23."  
  
"Navy man, I see." Vince jokes.  
  
"Yep. He's been a SEAL, for the last three years. He's applying to be a Leap Frog this year."  
  
Leon snorts. "What the fuck is a Leap Frog?"  
  
"It's the Navy Parachute Team. If he gets in, he'll be gone for three years doing that. I don't get to see him much, but he's living his dream, so I'm happy for him. He went straight into the Navy as soon as he got out of high school."  
  
"Who's Meg?" Letty asks.  
  
"That is...or was his girlfriend. She's a sweetheart, but I can see how it would be hard to keep up a relationship with my brother gone all the time."  
  
"Yeah. It's hard enough to keep one up when you see them every day." Letty rolls her eyes at Dom and he laughs. "Hey, why don't you have him over to our house for dinner?"  
  
"You sure?" She looks to me.  
  
"Yeah," I say. "If you're going to be around more, cuz of Jess and all, then we'd like to get to know you better."  
  
"Ok, thanks." She smiles, and I can see Jesse staring at his shoes. Since when did he become shy? Gin pulls a cell phone out of her pocket and dials Auz's number. "Hello? Hey Auz, it's me. Yeah...Well, change of plans..Yeah..These guys want you to come to dinner at their place tonight... Yeah, ok...alright." She gives Auz the address to our house and tells him to be there at 8.  
  
"So guys." I say. "What's up? You guys aren't closing shop till 6:30 tonight, remember?"  
  
"Well, Jess needs your opinion on the decal he designed for this girl's Mustang...and we wanted food!" Dom tells me, grabbing a bag of chips off the shelf.  
  
"Ya bring em, Jess? Lemme see!" I ask him excitedly, reaching out my hands for the manila folder he's holding.  
  
"Ok," With his brow furrowed, he describes his ideas. "Well, the lady wasn't specific. She said she wanted a couple versions and then she'd pick. So, I first layed out the traditional Cobra side decal and it's pretty unoriginal, right, but I figured start with the basics." He traces the design with his the side of his pinky and index fingers with his thumb in the air, his middle and ring fingers tucked to his palm. I nod my head, understanding, and he continues. "So then I brought the grid up in Photoshop and tried to map out an original design, something between this paint splash type, ya know, and then there's either a falcon or hawk type bird preceding it. There's the real basic. We could go with the stripes, or then I gridded this flying phoenix, which is pretty sweet." He gives this boyish grin and looks at Gin.  
  
She rests her head in his shoulder. "If you extend the splash pattern behind the phoenix about another 3 inches, it'll give the car a more elongated and streamlined look. Also, if you dip the phoenix wing down a little, it'll give the image the illusion that the phoenix is in flight and the wingtips are brushing the ground."  
  
"Good ideas, Gin. I agree. I like it." I say, obviously impressed.  
  
"Yeah, man. If we extend that wing down, and add some new hubs, this'll be some sweet eye candy. Now granted, the car only goes as fast as a stock Mustang will go, but it's a sweet ride nonetheless. He scratches his head, then looks a little bewildered. "Hey. Where's my hat?"  
  
"Me?"  
  
"You took my hat."  
  
"Oh, right! Well, it's in my car still, so you'll just have to come get it." She grins casually. Dom, Vince, and Leon, and Letty, who have progressed towards the back of the store start to laugh. Dom gets this big smile on his face and I can hear him quietly talking. "She's smooth."  
  
"Jesse better put on his lucky boxers tonight! Ow OW!" Leon says playfully.  
  
"Chingate!" Gin laughs. "Sea simpatico o yo diré la gente que tienes un chilito" ~Fuck you!~Be nice or I will tell people[esp. fem.] that you have a small dick~  
  
Letty starts to laugh really loudly at this and Leon has a completely bewildered look on his face. "She got you, dude. You seriously need to learn some Spanish. Gin, pienso que nosotros hablaríamos en español y poneríamos el nombre de Leon en nuestro conversación tan el piensa que nosotros estamos hablando sobre lo." ~Gin, I think that we should speak in Spanish and put Leon's name in our conversation so he thinks we are talking about him.~  
  
"JA JA! Si Si!" ~Haha! Yes, yes!"~  
  
"What are you guys saying?" Dom asks Letty.  
  
"I'll tell you later."  
  
"Hey, yo Jess..You want your hat?"  
  
Jesse nods and follows Gin to her car. She opens the door and he leans in, looking for his hat. He finds it, straightens his form, and turns around. Gin pushes him gently. "Hey Let." She yells. "Get in. I want your opinion on a few things." Letty walks out of the store and hops in the passenger side, while Gin goes around the car to the driver's side. She peels out and turns to Letty. "Point me to a straight stretch of road."  
  
  
  
~OK REVIEWS ARE NECESSARY! THERE'S NO POINT IN WRITING IF I DON'T THINK ANYONE'S READING IT! THANKS TO DEVILISHLY DIESEL, VINSGURL123, and TIGERLILY FOR THEIR REVIEWS!~ 


	15. dinner

~Letty's POV~  
  
"Ok, turn off here." I say to Gin. "There's a pretty open strip right up here. What do you want to do?"  
  
"Let, have you...have you ever raced before? Or you know, seen a race?"  
  
"What kind of race?" I play dumb.  
  
"You know..a street race!"  
  
Inwardly, I laugh. "You could say that. Why?"  
  
"This may sound really stupid and poser-ish but I wanted to.well, to try it. I want to see how fast my car will go. But, I'm kind of afraid that I'll, you know.either be incredibly slow or...or blow out my engine or a tire or something. I want to see how, if I can handle it. God, this sounds so incredibly stupid. I feel like I'm trying to be something I'm not."  
  
"Don't worry about it. Everyone has to start somewhere. I mean, even I did." I slip.  
  
She turns to me with wide eyes. "So, do you win?"  
  
"Hell yeah, chica, why would I race if I didn't?"  
  
"Ha.you know it's kinda funny. I mean, I see all your cars and...and I know they're racing cars, but I never really made the connection that you guys actually raced them."  
  
I smile at her excitement. "Well, no racing today girl. A stock Integra does the quarter mile in..." I strain to think back to what I'd read. "I think it's 15.5 seconds. I mean it only goes 0-60 in 7.1 seconds." Her face falls a little. "We need to improve on that time. But. if you want to do this, to soup up your car.I think we could swing it."  
  
She bounces up and down in the driver's seat. "SWEET! Thanks Let. How much is this gonna be though?"  
  
"Hard to say, depends on what systems you want. I'd say it might take 15 grand. Maybe more, maybe less."  
  
"Right, well, what else am I going to do with my inheritance? My car's as good an investment as any."  
  
"Gin, just how much are you worth?" I dare to ask.  
  
"Well, I don't know exactly. He wrote his will out to my brother and me. Forbes appraised him at something like 140 mil, so I guess I'll be getting 70 mil. It's sickening how much money that is. I really should give a nice chunk of that to some kind of charity, but I've got to find one that isn't out for fraud." She looks at me and smiles. I guess the expression on my face is funny, 'cause I can feel my mouth hanging open. I have no idea what being that rich feels like..I'll never know. Not that anyone ever needs that much money!  
  
"Hey Gin? Is there any way that you can marry into my family?" I smile and she starts to giggle.  
  
~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_ ~THAT AFTERNOON~ ~Gin's POV~  
  
"Yeah, come around ten. Thanks for agreeing on short notice. You're doing the right thing. He'll be so happy." I say into my cell.  
  
~THAT EVENING~ ~Gin's POV~  
  
"So, Auz, how do you like being in the Navy? I mean, doesn't being away from friends and family all the time bother you?" Jesse hounds him at the table in the backyard. He seems so fascinated by my brother's career.  
  
"Yeah, it gets to be a bit much, especially when there's a mission during the holidays and I can't get home to be with Meghan or Gin. But I call as much as I can, and this is really what I want to do so, to me, it's worth it. I wouldn't give it up for anything."  
  
I snort loudly. "Come on Auz. Be truthful. You know if it was Meg or being a SEAL, you'd choose her."  
  
Auz looks at me through the dim light of the evening hours and smiles sadly. "You're right, Gin, but I don't have that option anymore. It was too little, too late for her. But anyway," He continues, breaking sad thoughts away, "being a SEAL never gets boring."  
  
"What kind of training stuff do they have you go through?" Vince asks.  
  
"Well, last week they made is do this training exercise where we had to go out in small speedboats to Alcatraz and dive and come up from the underwater pipe systems. I can say it was damn creepy, after seeing 'The Rock' a thousand times."  
  
"I love that movie man!" Leon pipes up.  
  
"Yeah, but try watching it after having been there.. It's weird."  
  
"I can see that, brotha."  
  
"So, how'd you guys meet my sister?"  
  
"Well," Mia grins at Jesse a little. "She used to come by the store, Toretto's, all the time at lunch."  
  
"Whoa, how'd you get off campus? Maybe it's changed in the five years I've been gone, but Eastwood was like some kind of Camp David security Op."  
  
"So I pulled a mission impossible. Ok, ok." I relent. "Sometimes they have student monitors around campus, and they all have their price."  
  
"You payed them to let you off campus?"  
  
"Not exactly... I know things about each one that I could have released to the student body if they didn't let me off.." I smile devilishly. "What?" I say at the surprised look on my brother's face. "I know for a fact you did the same thing!"  
  
He starts to chuckle remembering. "Yeah, yeah, but those were different times."  
  
"Oh here we go again with the 'Back in my day' shit! You aren't THAT old!"  
  
Everyone starts to laugh, and then there's a knock on the door. Jesse gets up, but I jump to answer it. I don't even try to explain myself.  
  
"Hey girl," I greet a leggy brunette with baby blues.  
  
"Hey Gin." She greets me fondly. "It's good to see you again. I haven't seen you since, when, Christmas?"  
  
"Yeah, I think it was then."  
  
"Where.where is he?" She asks tentatively, running a hand through her hair. And slipping her thumb through the belt loop of her jeans.  
  
He's out back." She follows me towards the backyard, where in the last few minutes the guys have decided to play basketball..Shirts and Skins!  
  
She and I grab seats at the table unnoticed. "Mia, Let," I start. "This is Meghan."  
  
"Hey!" Mia and Letty give genuine friendly smiles. "So you are..were...Auz's girlfriend?"  
  
"Yeah. Maybe it'll be are after tonight. We'll see." She sighs like she's been through this too many times.  
  
"Yeah!" I yell as Jesse steals the ball and makes a layup. "Kick some ass. Take names!" I'm the rowdy spectator. He looks over and smiles at me. Auz looks over as well. He stares, seeming captivated by Meghan, almost not believing she's there. "Sub," he calls and Let jumps into the game. Silently, he takes Meghan's hand and leads her towards the front. Turning back for a second he comes over to me and hugs me. "Thank you, Gin. Truly, thank you." He then glances towards Mia. "Thanks for dinner Mia. It was nice meeting all of you. Gin, I'll see you tomorrow at.well..at nine." Then he returns to Meg, grabs her hand and they walk towards the street.  
  
~ OK REVIEWS! THANKS TO HARLESS FOR REVIEWING AND TALKING WITH ME TO HELP ME GET OUT OF MY BLOCK!!! SOMETIMES ALL I NEED IS A DISTRACTION~ 


	16. the funerallast will and testament

~Gin's POV~  
  
It's nine O'clock. I've just driven into the cemetary parking lot. I can see the hearse already here, along with my brother's rental car. I breathe in deeply let out a long slow breath. For a while, I was sad and then very happy. I've been relieved, incredibly angry, both for leaving me and for doing this to himself, but now...now, I've ascended to another level. I don't feel. This whole situation has drained me of emotion and I have no feelings, good or bad, towards this experience. I just want to be done with it and go on with my life. I don't know where I'll go from here, but I just don't want to be HERE any longer.  
  
I watch my step as I quietly and demurely walk the path into the cemetary and towards the coffin. Auz is standing tall with his head tucked to his chest, once again in his dark, officer's uniform. His hands are clasped behind his back. I stand next to him in my black, knee-length wrap dress and sigh. He puts one arm around my shoulder and I tuck my head to his chest. We stand there in silence. I hold a single, long-stemmed white rose to my chest, almost unwilling to place it on the mahogany coffin waiting to be interred into the earth. Auz gives me a small nudge and I comply with a few steps forward. Gently, I lay the rose on top of the casket and memories flood through my head.  
  
Flashback  
  
I am swinging on the swings in my backyard at age ten. My blue dress billows upwards as I propel my little body higher and higher. I laugh as Auz sits on the swing next to mine and watches me fly. My curly dark ponytail bounces and he smiles at me.  
  
"Auzzie," I giggle. "What do you want to be when you grow up?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You know. When you get as old as daddy and mommy are."  
  
"I want to be in the navy. I want to protect my family and my country's waters."  
  
"Like daddy protects us?" I question.  
  
"No, not like he protects us. Like mom protects us."  
  
I stop my swinging. Like all little girls, I hold my father in the highest regard. He's a knight in my eyes. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Daddy...well, he.." Auz looks for a way to explain it. "He's not good like mommy is. Mommy will always keep us safe. Mommy and Daddy together make.." Auz again searches for an analogy that will make sense to me. "Well, they're like a rose. A white rose. Mommy is the flower, the petals. She's beautiful and good and pure..and she hides the thorns on her stem. Daddy is a thorn. Virginia...Gin.." I stare at him with heavily lashed eyes. "Just be careful. Always listen to mommy." With those last words he brings me close in a hug.  
  
Flashback  
  
"You were right Auz." I whisper, when back under his wing. "He was a thorn." Auz nods to the man by the grave and he lowers the coffin into the ground. "Goodbye.": I whisper and hug Auz's waist. He kisses the top of my head.  
  
A few minutes later, he is laid to rest and Auz and I are exiting the graveyard. We separate to go to our cars and then reunite on the roadway, driving to the lawyer's office, for the reading of the will. We settle into leather chairs with hard metal studs trailing the armrests and around the back. They are a hunter green color, with a rich chestnut wood. A matching chestnut desk sits in front of us, behind which, sits a surly, partially bald lawyer, holding the will.  
  
"Shall I just go ahead?"  
  
"Yes, please do." Auz replies  
  
"This is the last Will and Testament of Michael Andrew O'Day, amended twice, once after the death of a one Adriana Gisella O'Day, and once again, on the eighteenth birthday of a one Virginia Alessandra O'Day.  
  
Hello Children, If this is being read to you then I have obviously met my demise. I don't want to beat around the bush, so I will make this will short and sweet. Austin, my only son, you have grown into an amazing man. I am proud to be called your father, even if you may not always be proud to call me yours. In my legacy, I bequeath to you the family name, the family honor, my Ferrari GT, and half of my fortune, valued at 75 million dollars. I hope you choose to invest this wisely and also to marry Meghan someday as I see she gives you unearthly happiness. Virginia, my only daughter, you are an enchanting woman and I hope you keep your sparkle all your life. I have done some unforgivable things to you in my life and I am truly sorry for times I have hurt you. You deserve better than I was about to give. To you, I bequeath our house and the other half of my fortune worth 75 million dollars. Please be smart with your money and meet someone who will appreciate you for you and no other reason. Well, children, this is all I have to say. I trust you will live well, stay healthy, and be happy. Goodbye, your father,  
  
Michael O'Day  
  
Well that is the end. I shall give a copy of the will to you Austin and also one to you Virginia. Two bank accounts were opened in your names upon the death of your father. Here are the bank codes, and may I offer my condolences to you and the rest of your family."  
  
We both shake his hand and then walk towards the door. Everything is done with. [To borrow Zuleyka's title] Now, where do we go from here? 


	17. sharp shooters

~Jesse's POV~  
  
THREE WEEKS LATER  
  
I work inside the garage, already sweaty in the sweltering mid-day LA heat. Dom is sitting inside the front of a Civic, removing the engine for a complete reassembly. I can see Vince's boots sticking out from under the car and I hear a voice that's unmistakably his, uttering a string of curses as his wrench clatters to the concrete floor. Letty is doing an oil change on some woman's crappy Neon, while Leon checks the air in her tires. I know Mia's working the market today.  
  
"Dom, can I talk to you for a minute?" I ask.  
  
"Sure, Jess. What's up?"  
  
"Well, I was.I was thinking."  
  
"Yeah..." Dom smiles.  
  
"About...well, Dom, how did, how did you know when you fell in love with Letty?"  
  
"What?" he asks surprised. "Well, I just....I just knew." He thinks about this for a moment, and then a smile comes to his face. "I sure as hell didn't want to admit it at first."  
  
"But HOW did you know?"  
  
"Jess, don't think. You just feel it."  
  
"Dom, I just.. I don't know....when did you start thinking differently about Letty?"  
  
"It was, well I was 20, so she had to be.16 or almost 17. It was a little while after I got back from Lompoc. She'd definitely...grown up. And by that time, she was some kind of genius mechanic. She could fix anything I couldn't and that.." He shakes his finger towards me with a laugh. "That's hot."  
  
I laugh. "Yeah, man."  
  
"Jess, what's this all about?"  
  
"Well.."I start. "Yeah. I don't know. She's different. She's not some race whore, you know, so I don't really know how to handle it all. She...oh I don't know. This must sound stupid, but everything is better when she's around."  
  
"Whpshhhhhhhh!" Dom smiles and makes a whipping motion with his hand.  
  
"Naww, man. Nawww. Things like that don't happen to me." I get up and walk towards the office, conscious of every step I take. I relax into the swivel chair and suddenly I realize my heart is racing. Could I...Naww, man, naww!  
  
"Hey, yo Jess!" I hear Dom shout.  
  
"What?"  
  
"She comin' tonight?"  
  
"Yeah. I invited her yesterday. She seemed pretty stoked to come to a race. Guess she's never been. I told her what to wear."  
  
  
  
~THAT NIGHT~  
  
"Holy shit!" Gin exclaims when she sees the tricked-out imports lining the street. "It really does look like this!"  
  
I smile at her. "Just wait till the actual race man. It's sweet. Dom's amazing, no one can beat him man. I don't know why people try."  
  
She looks at me with shining eyes and we both step out of the car. She's dressed to impress in boots, black leather pants, and a navy tank, showing a hint of her stomach. Her hair is down, the ends curling a little in the humid night.  
  
We meet at the front of the car and I slip my arm around her waist. Walking up to the rest of the team, I can see her taking it all in. She shivers with excitement. Let gives her a reassuring glance and Mia smiles.  
  
"Yo ese." Hector says to Dom. "Who's the chiquita with Jesse?"  
  
"Hector, Gin. Gin, Hector."  
  
~Gin's POV~  
  
"Hey," I say with a friendly smile.  
  
"Hey, chiquita. You a latina?"  
  
"Tu mejor lo crees." ~You better believe it~ I smile. "Mi madre fue de Brazil, pero ella vivó en Costa Rica y Mexico. Entonces, esa es porque yo no hablo portugesa." ~My mother was from Brazil but she lived in Costa Rica and Mexico. So, that's why I don't speak Portugese.~  
  
"Ahh. Estas competiendo to coche esta noche?" ~Are you racing your car tonight?~  
  
"No se termina al momento, pero veremos como esta haciendo pronto." ~It's not ready at the moment, but we'll see how it's doing soon.~  
  
Hector laughs and points to me. "I like her." He says to Dom.  
  
"Good, cuz she'll be sticking around."  
  
"So how's it going down tonight?"  
  
"The usual. Two large."  
  
"Well alright! Let's get this shakin'!"  
  
Hector leaves to his car and we follow suit. We drive to an empty street in East LA. It's not surprising it's so deserted, considering what time it is. Jesse taps his fingers absent-mindedly on the steering wheel and nods his head to the song blaring from his sub-woofers. Shifting into fourth, he's so intent on the road and the song that he doesn't notice my staring at him. I study his hands, every line in his face, the way his eyes crinkle when he laughs or squints. I look at him as if I've never seen him before. A sharp pain shoots through my chest and I wince, but it's gone as quickly as it came. With my knees pulled to my chest, I lean my head against the cool glass window. He glances over and catches me staring at him intently.  
  
"What?" he asks.  
  
"Nothing." I say.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"Just.looking."  
  
"Looking? At what?"  
  
"You.." I feel the pain again, but it's more intense. I hesitate to consider it a pain, because it doesn't hurt. It's just...an intense shooting feeling in my chest. It feels tight and I have to try harder than normal to breathe. It's oddly familiar.  
  
"Oh." He looks back at the road, a smile playing at his lips. "Why?"  
  
"No reason. I just.want to look at you."  
  
We pull up to the open street and park alongside several hundred other cars. Dom is already at the starting line, next to a viper and a mustang, both with unfamiliar drivers. Hector holds his hands up and they all shift into first. His arm swoops down as he yells, "NOW!" and the cars seem to hesitate, their wheels spinning in place. They shoot forward, Dom in the lead. Nine seconds later it's over and Dom has won by almost a full car length, without using any NOS. That man can drive! He turns his car around and drives back to the start. Getting out, Hector hands him the money and he comes over to the team. Vince pats him on the back and Dom gives Let a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She whispers something in his ear and he laughs.  
  
It seems as soon as it started, the experience is over and we're driving back to the Toretto house, where no doubt, a party will be in full swing soon. I get out of the car, but stumble, experiencing slight vertigo. Jesse jumps out of the car and comes around to pick me up.  
  
"Baby, you ok?" He asks concerned. There goes that feeling again.  
  
"Yeah, fine fine I jus...uh" I give a small gasp, truly only realizing then what is plaguing me.  
  
"You sure? You're acting a little strange."  
  
"Don't worry about it. I'm fine." I try to smile, but a feeling of dread sets in.  
  
We get inside and I curl up on the couch as he goes to get a drink. I feel dizzy and nervous. He comes back with a coke for me and when I don't respond, he touches my arm. That simple touch sends chills up and down my spine and I curl into a tighter ball. "Thanks," I say to him and take the icy can. He smiles, not really noticing my strange state and goes over to talk to Vince. What is wrong with me! Well, I know exactly what's wrong with me, but I'm trying to avoid it. I can't do this. No one would ever guess that I'm so weak.  
  
The evening draws to a close. Everyone's pretty much gone home and Mia's grabbing random beer bottles off the coffee table. I get up to leave. Jesse grabs my hand and he trails me to the door. "Stay," he asks me.  
  
I hate this. Why am I feeling this way? "Jess.."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I...We..can't do this anymore. It's, it's not going to work. I'm sorry. I think it's better if I go now."  
  
He's so surprised that his hand goes limp and I slip mine from his. I walk out the door and to my car. He doesn't see how I'm feeling as the silent drops of pain fall from their trails on my face to absorb in my pants. Another shooting pain fills my chest, this time truly painful, and I fight not to fall down. This time, though, I know the pain won't pass.  
  
~OK SO WHAT'S WRONG WITH GIN??? REVIEWS REVIEWS!!! I WANT GUESSES! YOU'LL FIND OUT IN THE NEXT 2 CHAPTERS.. HAHAHHA. REVIEWS!!!!!~ 


	18. love and war

~Jesse's POV~  
  
I splash cold water on my face in the upstairs bathroom. Resisting my true emotions, like I've always done, I have to pretend not to care. I feel like someone's taken a scythe to my body and hacked until there's nothing left. Energy drains out of every pore and I collapse against the wall. A knock on the door comes soon after.  
  
"Jess, you okay?"  
  
"Yeah, Mia. I'm fine. What would be wrong?"  
  
"Well. Gin.."  
  
"Just another girl, Mia. No feelings, no problem right? That's the way I play it."  
  
"Yeah, but Jess...." Mia is stopped by Leon. I can hear his slightly gruff voice in the hall, but can't make out the words. Nevertheless, I am once again left alone. Slowly I rise to my feet, and make my way to my room. All I want to do is sleep, because unconsciousness is the only thing that can stop me from feeling. I close my eyes and thankfully fall into a restful zone.  
  
A few hours later, I wake up in a cold sweat. I can't fall asleep again so I go downstairs to be comforted by the glow of the television. Letty is already down there, watching some guy put together a Mustang. "No man! You're doing it all wrong!" Letty says, intently watching his motions as if he were right in front of her. I sit down next to her and she smiles, then goes back to watching. "How do guys like this get jobs fixing cars, man? It's just wrong."  
  
I don't say anything, just sit silently next to her. She'll talk to me eventually, but not until she wants to know. "You're up early." I say to her. "Usually, we have to pry you out of bed with a crowbar."  
  
"I could say the same for you. I just...couldn't sleep. Had things on my mind. Why're you up?"  
  
"Same."  
  
"So what happened?" Letty asks, knowing I know very well what she means.  
  
"I have no idea. But, just another face in the crowd right?"  
  
"Jess.."Letty shakes her head. "You don't have to play it off. I know it was different."  
  
"It wasn't different. Just like any other race whore I hooked up with."  
  
"She wasn't a race whore."  
  
"That's not what I mean."  
  
"I know. And I also know that you didn't feel the same about her as you did about those race whores."  
  
"You're right. I didn't sleep with Gin. So I guess I felt even less..."  
  
"JESSE!" Letty exclaims exasperated. "You foolin' yourself if you think I don't know you. I saw the way you looked at her man. There was no lust. It was all like...and then love. When Hector said he liked Gin and Dom said she'd be sticking around, your face lit up like Vegas at the thought."  
  
"Let, I know you know me...Shit, you know me way too well. But as long as I play it off, people don't see my...hurt.....my heart. I've never given it away before. I've never wanted to."  
  
"If there's anyone who knows how you feel, it's probably me. I had to wait 7 years for Dom to love me, and it crushed me every time he was with another girl. But....having him now is completely worth those 7 years. It's worth 100 more. Jess, it's not over yet unless you want it to be. I don't know all the details, so I don't know if you guys can get back together, but really, at least get some answers as to why."  
  
"Let....thanks." I get up from my seat on the couch and walk out the front door to sit on the front steps. There's a tiny portable radio sitting on the third step and I turn it on, figuring some noise might clear my head a little. I turn it on and its static-y tuning blares music. Sister Hazel- "Your Winter," I continue tuning. Rick Springfield- "Jesse's Girl," I curse. "Christ! What are they trying to do to me? I continue tuning to a station that's playing Train, "Meet Virginia." "What the F! Is someone out to get me?" I turn off the radio and just sit, watching the last few stars disappear into the morning sky. Talking to Letty helped, and now I know it's not over...not yet.  
  
I crawl back to bed and this time, I'm able to recapture slumber. I awake a few hours later feeling a lot better and willing to go see Gin. I take a quick shower and throw on some pants, a beater, a jeans vest, and one of my beanies. Figuring I should call before just barging over to her house I pick up the phone.  
  
"Hello?" A voice asks.  
  
"Hi, is Gin home?"  
  
"This is Gin."  
  
"It's Jesse." I say. "I need to talk to you."  
  
"There's nothing to talk about Jesse."  
  
"Yes there is. So many things."  
  
"Jesse, what we have...had...is done."  
  
"But I don't want it to be."  
  
"Accept it for what it is, what it was. I've got to go now." The phone clicks dead.  
  
Hurriedly, I hang up and call her back. The phone picks up.  
  
"Gin.Gin?" The phone clicks dead once again.  
  
I dial once more and the line is busy...She's taken the phone off the hook. I figure I'll wait a little while before I drive over to try to talk to her. Going into the kitchen I fill a bowl with cereal and a glass with orange juice. I sit at the table, across from Mia, and watch her do a crossword puzzle of rock history. Brian comes down the stairs, rubbing sleep out of his eyes and he hugs her. She laughs and I can't wait any longer. I want Gin back, or I want answers.  
  
The Jetta's tires squeal in my haste and I commit several traffic violations more than usual driving to her house. I get out and knock on the front door. A maid answers.  
  
"Is Gin home?"  
  
"She's not here right now." The maid says a little curtly, though I am pretty sure she's lying because I hear voices in the living room.  
  
"Ok, I'll come back later." I half-smile and walk back to my car. When the maid closes the door I sneak around the side of the house towards the sliding glass door at the back. I can see better from there. Slowly, I quietly sneak around and peer into the window, cupping my hands around my eyes on the glass. What I see gives me a shock. Gin is wrapped in the arms of a curly dark-haired guy sitting on a huge chair. He's running his hand through her hair and her head is laid on his chest. One of the guy's arms is around her waist. They're talking, but I can't hear anything through the glass. Without warning, she looks up and sees me standing at the glass. She looks surprised, but closes her eyes, and if I didn't know better, I'd say tears showed themselves from her eyelashes. I walk straight back to my car before she opens her eyes again.  
  
Entering the house once again, Letty looks at me questioningly from her perch on a chair.  
  
"Done." I say. "Someone else."  
  
She nods, saying nothing, and comes to give me a hug. We embrace for a few seconds and then she returns to her chair. That's what I need right now. Loner time.  
  
~Gin's POV~  
  
I cry freely for the first time in a while. Jack strokes my hair and holds me tight. God, this guy is so great.  
  
"Gin, I don't get it. Why do you distrust so much?"  
  
"I don't know. Maybe because of Tristan?"  
  
"But you knew he was a player when you started dating him. And that was 2 years ago."  
  
"Yeah, I know. And I know Tristan is truly a good guy and that he's just not the faithful, one-woman type, but it didn't not hurt, after I'd been so stupid. So there within lies some insecurity, plus the fact that my father was a cheater. "  
  
"Yeah. I know. You've had it pretty rough, babe. But, que sera sera, girl. If it's meant to be, it will all work out."  
  
~Jesse's POV~  
  
I know I saw her with another guy, but I still haven't given up complete hope. Maybe she'll come see me...Maybe....  
  
  
  
  
  
~Ok, so have I got you good and confused? Hope so! REVIEWS! Ive got the next two chapters written and you wont get to find out what happens if you don't review. I could hold the chapter off for a day..a week..a month..depends on reviews!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~ 


	19. over for good?

~I REWROTE SOME OF THIS A COUPLE TIMES SO I HOPE ITS BETTER. I'VE JUST DISCOVERED HOW COMPLICATED THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS B/C I REWROTE THE LAST BIT IN JESS'S POV AND HAD TO SWITCH THE VERB CONJUGATIONS AND PRONOUNS! THANKS TO MY FAITHFUL REVIEWER'S CINDY, LAURA, HARLESSGIRL, AND THE TWO NEWEST REVIEWERS, THE FLAMING SAFETY PIN NAZI, and DALAMMADT~  
  
  
  
~Gin's POV~  
  
~Next Saturday~  
  
I pull in front of the Toretto house and obviously a raging party is going on. The whole street is parked with tricked-out imports and I have to park at the opposite end.  
  
I walk up to the door and knock. Nothing. I knock again. Still nothing. Leon spies me from the window, finally, and comes to open the door.  
  
"Well, well. What brings you here?" Leon teases. "Jess is in the dining room."  
  
"I.I'm not here to see Jess.. I just need to talk to Dominic for a minute."  
  
"Oh, ok.." Leon says confused. "Yo, Dom!"  
  
Dom come to the door, "Hey Gin. Good to see you back. You here for-"  
  
"No," I cut him short. "I left my shades here. I just came back for them."  
  
Dom looks surprised, but leaves to get them. He returns and I smile, but just then, Jesse sees me.  
  
"Gin?" He calls, almost frantically.  
  
I look at him longingly for a minute and then hurry away, out the door. Damn my car for being parked so far away.  
  
"Gin" He calls louder. I quicken my pace.  
  
"Please, Gin, just talk to me. I thought things were going pretty good."  
  
*So did I* I think.  
  
"Things don't always work out, Jess. You should know that by now." My voice cracks as I hold back tears.  
  
"Who was that guy I saw you with? Is this the reason you broke up with me? You found someone else?"  
  
He's piercing my heart with thoughts like that. There is no one else. I feel like there never will be anyone else.  
  
"Jack is only a friend, Jesse, not that it matters much now."  
  
"Gin, you're crying. What, what's wrong?"  
  
"Forget about it Jess! Stop! Just go back inside. It's better this way."  
  
"No. Girl, I just...DAMN IT! There's no reason for this!"  
  
I continue to walk, counting the cracks in the sidewalk as my shoes scuff across the ground.  
  
"All I want to do is understand. I just want to know why!"  
  
Finally, I can't hold it in any longer. I don't want to hold it in. "You want to know why? Here's the reason why." I yell, my voice cracking. "The last guy I fell in love with screwed me over! Literally! I found him fucking a girl I thought was my friend. I know now that it wasn't really love. I only thought it was. He never made my heart beat faster with just a touch, made me feel on top of the world when he smiled, gave me so much attention without a second thought. Jess....I have truly fallen completely in love with you so fast.....everything about you....your hair, your face, the way you can't get the words out when you get excited about something, how you can have the innocence of a little boy and then come and kiss me with such passion that I know you're a man, you, Jesse, YOU..... I just got so scared! Cuz the way I love you is such an intense feeling that if you ever cheated on me, I honestly might die of heartbreak, ignoring how cheesy and cliché that sounds! And all of this has happened in the span of what? A month and a half? I thought it would be easier to just break it off before I got hurt. NOW I pretty much screwed myself over because I can't stop this dull aching feeling that I'm constantly feeling when I'm not with you!" I continue to walk to my car. Slowly, ever so slowly.  
  
Jesse stares after me and then, head hanging, silently does a U-turn and walks back up the sidewalk, up the stairs to the porch of the house. Dom is standing in the doorway. He's heard everything. Jesse looks at him with eyes of fear, hurt, and almost..shame.  
  
"Jesse," Dom starts. "Don't be fucking stupid. She just said she loves you, and I sure as hell can tell you're whipped. Go after that girl before she walks out of your life altogether!"  
  
Jesse stands still for about a half-second and then takes off running after me. He can run pretty fast so he makes it to me before I get near my car. When he reaches me, I'm still crying silently. Wet, salty tears trail down my cheeks and my vision is blurred. He turns me around to face him and wipes my tears away with his slightly callused thumbs and his shirttail. Jess holds me close and kisses me. I go loose for a second, caught in the moment, but then feel myself tense up once again. "Jess..we.I..can't. I'm sorry. I'm not strong enough to take the risks." I turn away and start to walk to my car once again. He stares, watching me go and then trudges back to the house, completely dejected, rejected, unwilling to face Dominic.  
  
Jesse goes inside and I double back, sinking to the ground in front of their house, my back against the concrete wall, guarding their lawn from the sidewalk. My knees are pulled to my chest, as it starts to rain. I just sit there shaking, miserable, in so much pain that I might as well have been stabbed and the knife been twisted round and round in the wound. I feel so stupid for having done this because I already do feel like I'm going to die. Now it's partially my pride that won't let me go back. I just feel so incredibly retarded because it really doesn't make any sense what I did. I didn't want to take the risk of having my heart broken, but breaking up with him immediately did that.  
  
"Shit!" I say to myself. I had left my sunglasses with Dom! Slowly, I rise and walk up the stairs, gently knocking on the door, only half-hoping someone can hear me.  
  
Dom answers, holding the glasses playfully. He knew I would come back for them.  
  
"Thanks," I whisper. I give him a quick hug. "Thanks for everything, being so welcoming." I turn away, walking out the door.  
  
"Jesse fell for you, you know." I stop at his rough voice. "He's head over heels and I don't even think he fully knows how deep his feelings run. I can just tell. No one takes his beanie and lives. Please don't do this Gin." Silence ensues and then the door shuts gently.  
  
I partially walk down the stairs, giving little gasps for air. Suddenly, I do a 180 and run up to the door, throwing it open. I storm into the house, my eyes darting all over the downstairs, looking for that familiar beanie.  
  
I see him standing there with Leon in the kitchen, deep in conversation looking so perfect. Sharp pain shoots through my heart. The music's blaring and everyone's in his own world, but Letty sees me come in.  
  
"Hey Gin. Didn't expect to see you here." She smiles.  
  
"Letty, now's not the best time to talk." I say a little more curtly than I mean to.  
  
I head into the kitchen soaking, shivering, and completely in turmoil. Jesse's back is to me, but Leon starts to speak. "Dawg.." he says.  
  
~Jesse's POV~  
  
She quickly taps me on the shoulder. I turn around confused to see her at all, and to see her soaking wet. She looks at me for a moment and then at Leon.  
  
"Sorry Leon." She says as she lightly pushes him on the chest just to move him a little away from me. "I'm sorry..." she whispers, kissing me for only a second, because I don't kiss back, and then grabs my hat, puts it on her head and walks out the back door, into the backyard and the rain.  
  
I'm very confused, a little ticked off by this time, thinking, * She breaks my heart and then takes my favorite hat? Who the fuck does this chick think she is? *  
  
I follow her out into the rain. "Gin, you can' t have my fucking hat," I almost spit, knowing very fucking well she can have whatever she wants from me. I reach out my hand to take it off her head, but she grabs my wrist and pulls me back to the stairs leading out the rear of the house so she's standing even with me.  
  
Quietly, she whispers again, "I'm so sorry. I feel so stupid for having done all of this because the whole reason was so I wouldn't get hurt, not even thinking of you, and I screwed myself because the moment I broke up with you I did get hurt." She babbles.  
  
"You gotta take a little dirt to keep what you love." I say reminding her of the song she was singing along to on the beach.  
  
"It's worth it to you?" She asks, incredibly surprised. I sheepishly nod my head. A great sigh escapes her lips and she smiles her incredibly smile. It lights up her whole face, and mine with it. She grabs my shirt and pulls me forcefully close. She places her left hand on the back of my neck and head, and pulls me into a kiss. My hands immediately go to her face and she wraps her arms tightly around my waist. Our kiss is at first gentle, but long- awaited passion creeps in and our roughness surprises us both. We're trying to get as close to each other as possible.  
  
"Gin, I...I love you. It's.just, it's hard for me to say, cuz..cuz I've never been in love before." I blurt blushing slightly, still scared to say it even though I know she loves me, and then a huge grin takes over my face.  
  
"I told you I was a mental case. I really am. I don't know what anyone sees in me."  
  
"Yeah....and I told you......you're my mental case, always will be. There's no escaping now, cuz I'm not letting you go."  
  
"So, you won' have a problem with my keeping your hat?" She grins playfully and I lightly nudge her shoulder because she got me to laugh. I pull her close and softly kiss her. She slips her tongue into my mouth and I put my other hand around her waist lifting her up as I walk the stairs into the house. We stand in the kitchen hugging, until she shiver again.  
  
"Hold on for a sec." I run upstairs and return with a towel for her. Wrapping it around her, I hold her close for extra warmth. I don't want her to get sick.  
  
I look over Gin's shoulder and Letty's in the doorway with Leon. She mouths a few words to me and does a little dance. "Someone's gonna get hooked up tonight!" My mouth drops open and my eyes widen, but I'm smiling. She puts one finger to her lips and leaves the doorway.  
  
~REVIEWS REVIEWS REVIEWS OR YOU WON"T GET THE HOOKUP FOR A WHILE!!!! AND...... OH IT'S A DOUBLE HOOKUP BABY! SO LETTY/DOM FANS REVIEW TOO!!!!!!~ 


	20. first time

SORRY! I WAS SO BUSY AND ALSO JUST NEEDED A BREAK FROM THINGS BUT NOW IM BACK. HOPE THE HOOKUP IS ENOUGH FOR YOU. DIDN'T WANT TO MAKE IT TOO RATED, YA KNOW?  
  
~Jesse's POV~  
  
Everyone is sitting around the living room, half asleep, half drunk. Everyone's left. Gin and I are still in our wet clothes, and I'm cold as hell.  
  
"Well, I really need to get a shower. It's freakin' cold, man!" Vince gives me a vicious elbow in the gut, and looks at Gin's soggy form. "And you can go first!" I finish quickly.  
  
She laughs. "No, no. I dragged you into the rain. You go first." She insists.  
  
We go upstairs, huddled in light blue towels, our shoes squelching. The team follows, going to their respective bedrooms. Gin sits huddled in my room, as I quickly walk to the bathroom and shut the door. I strip and get into the stall, the hot water blasting on me, making my skin feel tingly as I regain body heat.  
  
  
  
~Letty's POV~  
  
I turn on the stereo, not too loudly, but loud enough.  
  
"Are you crazy? It's four in the morning, Letty!" Dom says, annoyed.  
  
"It's on for a reason, Dom." I tell him.  
  
"Wha-Oh." He grins playfully at me.  
  
"Not that!Well that, but not for us. I'll bet money that Gin and Jess .... well, yeah, tonight." A few seconds later, faint sounds of music can be heard from the basement rooms of Vince and Leon. Guess they had the same idea.  
  
"You know.." Dom says, almost coyly. "I think we need to make use of this soundproof house."  
  
~Jesse's POV~  
  
I'm still standing, enjoying the hot spray, when the curtain pulls back a little. Instinctively, I shrink to the other end of the stall, but it's only Gin.GIN???!!!!  
  
"Wha.what are you doing here?"  
  
"I thought I was taking a shower." She raises an eyebrow and looks me up and down. A chill of excitement runs up my spine. She steps into the stall with me and stands directly under the spray, her dark hair partially cascading down her back, her bronze skin suddenly glistening with water droplets. She then comes over and kisses me deeply, moving to my neck, tickling me with her tongue. She runs her fingers up my back, gently scratching me with her nails, giving me another chill. This girl is in complete control of me. She can do whatever she wants. Slowly, she moves down my chest, softly kissing the bare flesh and flicking it with her tongue. Gin kneels, flicking the tip of * me * with her tongue. Moving slowly upwards again to my mouth, I'm incredibly turned on. I kiss her passionately, pushing her against the wall opposite the spray with my hands braced against the wall on either side of her head. I slip one hand down between her legs and start a pumping motion with my fingers. She gives a low gasp and her back bangs gently against the shower stall. Continuing this motion, I lay a trail of kisses from her mouth, down her neck, between her breasts and ending between her thighs. I move upwards once again, laying a gentle kiss in her navel and then run my hands through her hair. She wraps her arms around my neck and then, supporting herself on me, her legs around my waist. Slowly, we begin to make love for the first time. And also for the first time, it truly means something to me.  
  
~Dom's POV~  
  
We lie on the bed next to each other and she traces imaginary circles on my scruffy head. She places a gentle kiss on my lips and gently sighs with a tired smile. "I love you, Dom." Let says, looking into my eyes.  
  
"I love you too, baby. You know that right?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
I run a hand across her stomach tickling her. She lets out a scratchy laugh. I tickle her again and she turns away with a smile. "Watch it Mister!"  
  
"Or what?"  
  
"Or else." She silently rolls on top of me and lays kisses on my bare chest. She works her way up to my mouth and I tug at the ends of her tiny wifebeater, pulling it over her head. Both our boxers are removed and we lie there, completely naked, just being. She sits up and puts me inside her as we slip into a well-known rhythm of rocking. Our bodies work together like a well-oiled machine as we know every dip and curve of each other. Five years of bliss and I am sure that I am going to wake up every day next to this perfect woman. And I know that I want to, no doubts about it. Her palms press into my stomach as her back arches and her eyes close tightly. Both of our breathing increases as we draw closer to the edge. We peak together and she relaxes onto my stomach once more. We lay together and sleep, in perfect harmony, as a question ponders in my mind.  
  
~Gin's POV~  
  
I wake up when it's still dark out, knowing I probably haven't even slept an hour. Jesse is sleeping peacefully next to me, his arm casually thrown over me. I rub my hand across his bare chest and smile. Wait. I see something I hadn't noticed before. A scar. Rather round in shape with the skin around it a slightly lighter color and pulled taught, as if there were stitches involved. His eyes flutter open at my touch and he sees me examining his scar. A look of fear is in his eyes. "Jesse, what's this?" I ask, gently touching his wound. His face has a deer-in-headlights look and he sits up.  
  
"Nothin'" he mumbles, and walks out of the room and down the stairs.  
  
"Jesse?" 


	21. surfacing questions

~SORRY SORRY! GOD SCHOOL IS A PITA. SO MUCH WORK!~  
  
  
  
~Jesse's POV~  
  
"Jess?" Her voice lightly floats down the stairs. "You ok? What's wrong?"  
  
My mind races. Should I tell her? I don't want to keep things from her, but this isn't just my secret.......and would she think less of me? "Uhh....." I stall. Sighing, I give in. "I'm fine."  
  
"You sure? You just rushed down the stairs so fast..."  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll, I'll tell you about it, but not now. I'm not ready yet."  
  
"Ok...." Gin accepts, looking slightly confused, but half smiling. "You know what you need?"  
  
"What?" I ask warily.  
  
"Peanut butter."  
  
"Peanut butter?"  
  
"Yeah...on Oreos!"  
  
"Naw that's gross."  
  
"It tastes just like a Reese's!"  
  
"Then why not just eat a Reese's....."  
  
She looks at me and laughs. "Because that wouldn't be any fun!"  
  
"Have you had some coffee or red bull that I don't know about?"  
  
"No....I'm just a big fan of peanut butter." She goes into the kitchen and I can hear her rummaging around.  
  
I sit there chuckling to myself when she returns with a stack of Oreos on a plate and a knife in a half-eaten jar of peanut butter. "What are you doing?"  
  
"WE'RE eating. Come on! Try it."  
  
"Fine, but afterwards I wanna go work on my car."  
  
"K, but I've got to get home. I've got some schoolwork to do, plus college apps, and then I've got to work on getting that house up for sale."  
  
"Aight, well I don't want you to leave, so I guess we'll have to eat some Oreos."  
  
~Dom's POV~ "Hey....Hey you!"  
  
I wake to Letty sitting on me and gently nudging my chest. "What?" I say groggily.  
  
"It's time to get up." She rubs a lightly callused hand across my bald head and then gently scratches my stubbly cheek with her nails.  
  
"What time is it?"  
  
"8:00."  
  
"Aw, Let, come on. It's still early."  
  
"Yeah, but we got work to catch up on today. I wanna tune my car and Leon said that he needed help on that paint job that.what's his name..Tracy.or Jason.or, it was one of those basketball guy's names.."  
  
"Kobe? Shaq? Yao Ming?"  
  
She lets out a laugh that makes me love her even more. "No, it was definitely....Tracy...or Jason...maybe his name was Tracy Jason. Wait....how did you get me distracted? Time to get up."  
  
"Or you could sit here on top of me a little longer." I smile.  
  
She leans down and kisses me. "I could," her hair hangs down, creating a tunnel with eyes at either end. "But I'm not gonna." She rolls off of me and I let out a growl in frustration.  
  
"No sleep, and no you? This day gets better and better. It's Sunday, Leticia." I groan, taking a serious risk at using her full name.  
  
"What did you say?" She turns around, putting on boxers and a wifebeater.  
  
"Nooothin'?" I grin, only half-trying to weasel out of my mistake.  
  
"You called me Leticia."  
  
"Did I? I can't remember. I think I'll get up now." I say quickly, putting on boxers and pants.  
  
"I think you should stay right here, actually." Letty pretends to be mad.  
  
"Oh, no. I've got to get up. You see I've got some work to do at the garage." I head towards the door and get halfway into the hall before she jumps on my back. I continue down the stairs.  
  
"You're not getting away with that."  
  
"Well, tell me what I gotta do."  
  
"Well...." She stops and stares at the two forms giggling madly on the floor. "I'm not even gonna ask."  
  
Jesse and Gin try to explain, but their mouths are too full of peanut butter and.....Oreo?  
  
At that image, I turn around and head right back up the stairs, which makes them laugh even harder. We return to our room and proceed to get dressed for the day. I have some tuner work to do on the chassis of this woman's jag.  
  
Soon after, we arrive at the garage. It's about ten and the guys are now with us. Mia's around somewhere, but didn't come. I slide under the jag, glad to have a wrench in my hand and a job to do to keep me from thinking about things, but I keep getting drawn back to that one question. I hear a door open and a strange voice talking to the guys and then Letty. The voices are far away as I'm completely spaced out over this nerve-wracking idea that has just recently formed in my head.....well only recently have I been serious about it. I'm jolted out of my thoughts by a swift kick to my feet. I roll out from under the jag and Vince and Leon are standing there.  
  
"Wha?" I ask, annoyed they jolted me out of my daydream.  
  
"Someone's mackin' on your girl, dawg." Leon says.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"That guy, Tracy, the one who owns the Silvia getting the paint job. He's hitting on Letty." Vince almost growls.  
  
I glance over and don't see anything. Watching them for a moment, though, I can see him touching her shoulder, and casually pausing to touch her waist in his speech. She makes no attempt to stop him and I start to get angry. Just then he leaves with a wave and a grin. I walk over. "What was that, Let?" I don't ask harshly, but it's an honest question.  
  
"What was what?"  
  
"THAT. That guy was all over you. Touching you and shit, I didn't like it."  
  
"He was just being friendly, Dom. And he's a good customer. Just chill, I can take care of myself."  
  
"I don't want you to have to."  
  
"Dom, it's cool. Go back to whatever you were doing."  
  
"Yeah...ok." I glance at Leon and Vince, motioning for V to come over. "If he comes back in here, I don't want them alone. Watch him, V?"  
  
"Sure, Dom. Don't worry. He ain't gettin' his hands on her, or anything else on her, for that matter."  
  
"Yeah," I say, sliding back under the car in the dolly. A few seconds later, I slide out from under the car and lean my head against the side, my breath suddenly taken away. That little situation with Tracy made me realize that I never want anyone to be able to do that again. "Guys, I've got to go get something. I'll be back later." I peel off in the RX-7, heading to talk Mia into helping me.  
  
~Letty's POV~  
  
I shudder as I complete the Silvia's paint job. That guy is creepy. I hadn't noticed it before, but he was definitely hitting on me. Why didn't I just haul back and punch him? I should have, but I guess business comes first....and I must admit, I like to work on his car. I continue the paint job as Jesse pulls up. He heads into the back office and I turn off the sprayer to take a break. I head into the back and sit near Jesse. "So what was with the peanut butter?" I smile.  
  
"Long story. Hey, I need to talk to the team about a few things."  
  
"K, and what would those be...."  
  
"Well, one, I can talk to Leon about later, but the other...I need to talk to everyone, probably even Mia."  
  
"Guys get in here!" I shout.  
  
"What!" Vince yells, as he, Brian, and Leon walk into the office.  
  
"Where's Dom?"  
  
"He left, babbling about picking something up."  
  
"Ok, well Jesse, shoot."  
  
"Funny you should say that. You see, this morning....Gin...she, she noticed....uh....my scar and she wanted to know what it was from. I, I didn't want to tell her before talking to you guys, but...is it ok if I tell her what happened? I don't know, but I feel like if I don't tell her now, it's going to come back up sometime."  
  
The room is silent as we turn this over in our heads.  
  
"I don't know dawg, but....if I had a girl, I think I'd want her to know."  
  
"Yeah, I'll have to think about it. Right now, I think Leon's right." V agrees.  
  
"Same," Brian adds.  
  
"Aight. Hey Leon, can I talk to you about something else."  
  
"Sure, dawg. Out in the garage."  
  
We all strain to hear and catch bits of the conversation.  
  
"Gin....college applications...what if....far away.....what to do?"  
  
"Don't know..dawg...talk to her...dawg....dawg....careful....dawg."  
  
We sit back, half-smiling at Leon's speech.  
  
~OK REVIEWS GUYS. IVE GOT SOME GOOD IDEAS SO PLEASE REVIEW!~ 


	22. worries and jealousy

HEY, DOES ANYONE WANNA BETA-READ THIS FIC? I DON'T NEED IT FOR GRAMMAR, BUT JUST FOR GENERAL STORYLINES AND SHIT? EMAIL ME AT greenglowchassis@hotmail.com IF YOU WANT TO!  
~Dom's POV~  
  
Almost a week later, my heavy-booted feet tap under the table in the backyard, as I take a swig from my Corona. I stare off in space in deep thought.  
  
"Dom, you ok brotha?" V asks, frowning, while sipping his own beer.  
  
I rub a hand across my head and face. I let out a low groan. "Yeah."  
  
"Sure? You're acting all weird and...fidgity."  
  
"I'm fine!" I almost growl. Vince raises his eyebrows. "Sorry. Just stressed."  
  
"Anything I need to know about? You and Let aren't fighting are ya? Cuz that affects the WHOLE house, no matter how much you two deny it."  
  
"No, we're fine. Everything's fine." I close my eyes and sigh, slumping in my chair.  
  
"Aight, I'll take your word for it." He gets up from the table and makes his way into the house. I hear the screen on the front door bang shut and Vince says, "Hey Mia."  
  
I sit up straight and my eyes open when I hear her coming out back. I turn around in my chair quickly and look at her questioningly. Her face gives nothing away. "Did you find it?" I question.  
  
Mia smiles and nods.  
  
"Where was it?"  
  
"Attic. With some of mom's old stuff." She lets out a little laugh and grins, swinging the plastic bag at her side.  
  
"What are you laughing at?" I ask, one eyebrow raised.  
  
"Nothing. It's just funny to see you act like a nervous little boy. You've never been nervous person before, so I guess you're making up for it now."  
  
"Yeah well, it's different now, Mia. You should understand." My eyes return to staring at the table.  
  
"I know. I do, Dom." Her voice gentles and she places the bag on the table next to me. She places a loving hand on my shoulder and then retreats into the house.  
  
Leon comes around the side of the house arguing with Jesse about the head gasket of some car in the shop and they sit down at the table. "Hey, Mia!" Jess calls.  
  
"What?" She pokes her head out of the doorway.  
  
" Please?" Leon asks.  
  
She rolls her eyes and disappears into the house, only to reappear a second later with two Coronas.  
  
"Thanks Mi," they say on cue.  
  
"Yeah, yeah."  
  
I get up from the table and go into the kitchen, then continue my way into the front hall towards the stairs.  
  
Letty gets up from her racing game on the PlayStation. "Dom, can we talk? It's kind of-"  
  
"Later." I grunt cutting her off, and continue up the stairs to our room.  
  
"Important." She finishes softly. "Yeah." She says, sinking onto the couch in the living room.  
  
~Letty's POV~  
  
"Hey Mia! You ready?" Dom calls up the stairs.  
  
"Yeah, just a sec!" She yells down.  
  
"What's she doin' up there?" Dom says to no one in particular. Faint sounds of a hair dryer can be heard.  
  
"Well, if THAT'S any indication," I nod toward the sound sarcastically. "She's drying her hair, Dom, not caking on makeup."  
  
"She's been up there for an hour."  
  
"Well she's got about three feet more hair than you do!" I roughly rub his bald head.  
  
"You know what? I'm gonna get her." Jesse says frustrated. He climbs the stairs as Gin and Leon laugh, but a few seconds later he reappears with Mia in tow.  
  
We all pile into our separate cars and ride to the meeting place. Hundreds of imports line the street, their owners almost as candied as the cars. Arriving together, I see Dom get out first, the guys close behind. A couple racer sluts attach to Dom's biceps, petting his chest and giggling. I get out of my car and walk up to the guys with Mia and Gin. Making eye contact with Dom, I glare at the girls, bare my teeth for a second, and then roll my eyes and look back to the rest of the team. Dom and Hector negotiate the race as I see Tracy making his way from his street rod to me.  
  
"Hey Letty. How's that paint job coming? I'd love to have the car back by next week." He smiles.  
  
"That can probably be arranged." I smile, but stand back.  
  
"Something wrong?" He notices my standoffishness.  
  
"No, not really. I just...."  
  
"Oh." He smiles. "I'm sorry if I was forward at the garage. I was just trying to be friendly.....and you're a beautiful woman. I hope Dom appreciates that as much as I do."  
  
I look into his eyes for a moment and see he's sincere. My guarded stance lapses and I break my glare. "It's ok."  
  
"So how much longer is the car gonna be in the garage, do you think?"  
  
"Not too much longer. Should have it by Wednesday, tops, but it depends on if we get a lot of new jobs this week."  
  
"Ok, sounds good." He gives a friendly grin once more. "Hey Dom."  
  
I turn to see Dom at my side with a frown on his face. "What's going on here?" He asks suspiciously.  
  
"Nothing." Tracy says honestly.  
  
"Nothing? Doesn't look like nothing." He glares at Tracy.  
  
"I was just asking when my car would be ready, ok? That's it."  
  
"Yeah. Just watch yourself." He almost growls as he places a possessive hand around my waist. I frown and push him away. He looks incredibly surprised.  
  
"Oh, so it's ok for you to let those skanks put their hands all over you, but it's not ok for me to have a friendly conversation about a paint job at work with a guy whose hands are nowhere near me? Nice Dom, real nice." I begin to stalk over to Mia and the rest of the guys, when Dom catches my wrist and turns me to face him.  
  
"What's with you?" He asks.  
  
~What's with me? What's with you! You've been acting weird and distant all week!~ I want to say, but instead I let out a breath. "Nothing. Look I'm going home." I say, tired all of a sudden. Almost sarcastically I add, "Have a great race." Then I get in my car and head home. I arrive in the driveway and quickly jog into the house and up the stairs. I strip off my clothes in my room and get in the shower, lathering soap over my body. My tears mingle with the warm water as I break down under the stress of it all. At least no one can see me cry.  
  
The party downstairs starts about when I get out of the shower. ~Guess he won~ I think, rolling my eyes another time tonight. I slip on my bra and panties, a pair of boxers, some loose fleece pants, and one of Dom's wifebeaters. Even when I'm mad at him, I still like the feel of his clothes. Quietly, I pad down the hall and sit on the stairs, watching the party, my curly wet hair in a loose ponytail.  
  
"Hey Let!" V smiles and takes a pull from his drink. "Where were you? Want one?" He points to the bottle of Corona in his hand.  
  
"Naw I'm good." I turn him down with a sigh.  
  
"Is this a first? Should we call the doctors to cart you away? When have you ever turned down a beer?"  
  
"I don't think I have. I-" I'm cut off by Dom's approach. I see he's left a few girls behind with Leon.  
  
"We need to talk." He says gruffly. He reaches for my hand and I let him hold it for a moment as our eyes lock, but then pull it back.  
  
"Yes, we do. But like you said before, later." I turn and walk back up the stairs into my bedroom and turn out the lights. The pounding music fades away as I drift off into sleep, angry at Dom, myself, the world.  
  
~REVIEWS REVIEWS! THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE UP SOON! SOONER IF YOU REVIEW! ALL THINGS REVEALED NEXT CHAPTER........OK NOT ALL THINGS, BUT ONE MAJOR THING! HEE HEE~ 


	23. what the hell!

~OK INTERESTING REVELATIONS IN THIS CHAPTER! THANKS SO MUCH TO ALEX DIESEL FOR BETA-READING MY FIC! LOVE YA RUCA! OH AND THE LYRICS ARE FROM "SUNBURN" BY FUEL~  
  
~Dom's POV~  
  
/The sky was dark this morning  
  
Not a bird in the trees  
  
And silence hung suspicious and anxious  
  
Like a blanket covered scream/  
  
The clock reads 5:00 AM and I can't squeeze out any more pathetic excuse for sleep on this cold floor. Letty never kicked me out of bed, but I thought it was better to give her space. I dress quietly, throwing on my pants from yesterday and a new wifebeater. I go into the bathroom and quickly wash my face, brush my teeth, and head out. I just want to be near a car now. Letty's angry with me and I need to be away from it all.  
  
I had only been working on my car for maybe a half hour when I hear the low rumble of an engine. Letty's Nissan rolls into an open space in the garage and her flame boots stomp around to the tool bench to grab some things. She must have heard me get up. I slide out from the underside of the RX-7 and stand, wiping my hands on a rag. "Hey." I say softly, hoping to make amends soon enough.  
  
"Hey." She answers shortly and then grabs a wrench and slides under her car.  
  
/And you were gone  
  
You were not there for me And I cursed the sky and begged the sun to  
  
Fall all over me  
  
This life's not living, baby  
  
Living ain't free  
  
If I can't find my way back to me  
  
Let the sun fall down over me  
  
Let the sun fall down/  
  
With a sigh, I roll back under mine. I won't be able to talk to her until she's completely ready. I've learned that much over the many years we've been together. We work in silence for a while. Only occasionally do I catch a glimpse of her rolling out to get another tool or to take a break. It's usually never completely quiet in the garage and the silence is eerie now. I want to talk with her, fix this fight. We always fight over the stupidest things and it takes days for either of us to lick our wounds and apologize. That's just how we are. Sometimes we're so alike, and I guess that's why I love her so much.  
  
The sun fills the garage more and more as the morning dawns to afternoon. Around 1, I get hungry and plan to go get food. "Let? I'm goin' to the store. Ya want anything?" She just grunts, so I let her be, shed my coveralls, and leave for lunch.  
  
/All my friends are searching  
  
Quiet, desperately Look into their eyes you'll see the faithless crying  
  
Save me, save me, save me  
  
And what are they to feel  
  
And who are they to be  
  
And what am I to do with, do with me, Just let the sun fall all over me  
  
This life's not living, baby  
  
Living ain't free  
  
If I can't find my way back to me  
  
Let the sun fall down over me  
  
Let the sun fall down/  
~Mia's POV~ "So, I think we're putting new valve springs in the Supra on Monday." Brian tells me as he eats his sandwich. I nod in concurrence as I work on a paper for school.  
  
"Sounds good."  
  
"How's that tuna?" Dom comes in from the side door and greets Brian.  
  
"Still good, man. It'll never get old."  
  
"I don't know how you eat that stuff. It tastes like shit." Dom laughs. "No offense, Mia."  
  
"And what would you like, Dominic?" I ask.  
  
"Uhh, sandwich, turkey or something. Surprise me." He grins.  
  
"Yeah, ok. I'll surprise you." I tease.  
  
"Mi?"  
  
"Huh."  
  
"You know Letty really well. Has she seemed on edge to you lately?"  
  
"On edge? No, not particularly. Unless you count last night."  
  
"Yeah, she just seems sort of out of sorts lately."  
  
"I think she's just feeling a little neglected, Dom. You've been acting really oddly all week, understandably, but she doesn't know what's going on. None of the team does."  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Heh, she's at the garage now. Can you just make two sandwiches to go? I'll grab a couple Coronas."  
  
"Sure." I smile at him and finish the sandwiches quickly.  
  
"Thanks Mi." He gives me a kiss on the cheek. " See ya later Brian." He nods and leaves.  
  
"What were you talking about Mia?" Brian queries.  
  
"When?"  
  
"When you said none of the team knows what's going on with Dom."  
  
"Nothing, forget it."  
  
"You know something about Dom?"  
  
"Everything will play itself out. I promise." I sigh.  
  
"Ok." He nods, then smiles. He comes around behind the counter with me and gives me a hug.  
  
"What's that for?"  
  
"Nothing. Can't I hug you when I want?"  
  
"Yeah, I just...." I'm cut off as our lips meet in an impromptu kiss. I break it early and smile.  
  
"What?" He asks.  
  
"You're the only person I know who can eat tuna and not get tuna breath."  
  
"Do I detect a complaint?"  
  
"No, not at all. It's a very good thing." I smile and he grins, pulling me back into the kiss. Our tongues meet for only a second when I hear the low rumble of the rest of the boys' engines. Sighing we break apart again. "Those boys can't do anything for themselves."  
  
"Ask Gin to make lunch for 'em."  
  
"That's like asking Letty to do it. Only under fire or threat of no cars would she make lunch for those lugs." He laughs and I can hear the drones of "Mia!" coming before they enter the store.  
  
~Letty's POV~ I lean against the passenger side door as the midday heat bakes the garage. Sweat drips off me and I tuck stray hairs behind my ears. Dom returns, backing his car into the vacant garage space and killing the engine. He gets out with a paper bag.  
  
"Hey Let." He says quietly, not making eye contact.  
  
"Hey." I reply.  
  
"Brought you a sandwich." He tosses me a square item wrapped in tin foil.  
  
"Not hungry." I say, putting it on the tool bench for later.  
  
"Yeah I know, but I brought it anyway."  
  
"Ok.......Thanks." I watch him pull off his wifebeater and pants, returning to his coveralls. His body glistens with sweat, so perfect. He pops the top off his Corona and takes a long pull, tilting his head back. ~Arghh!~ I scream mentally. I hate that I can't stay mad at him, and the way he's so unconscious to the fact that by those simple movements, he can make me want him. Really want him.  
  
"Here." He says, and hands me a Corona and the can opener. "Even if you weren't hungry, I thought you'd want one of these, right?" He smiles a little. I glare, suddenly outraged by this action. I grab the Corona and slam it to the ground, shattering the bottle splashing the liquid everywhere. I take the can opener and fling it as far as I can. He knows I can't drink this anym-I stop my mental tirade against Dom. No. No he doesn't know. I regret it as soon as I realize.  
  
Dom stares at me with dark eyes. His face instantly clouds and his anger is obvious. Towering right in front of me, he starts to yell in frustration. "Jesus Christ, Let! I bring you food even though I know you aren't hungry. I bring you a drink 'cause I know you'd want one and then you smash it all over the garage. What the fuck do you want from me!"  
  
/'Till my eyes cry out 'Til my head is free from doubt  
  
'Til my lungs sigh right out  
  
'Til I'm wiser, yeah/  
  
His anger reignites my own. "What do I want? What do I want?' I look down and let out a big breath. Then I reaffix him with my glare. "I want you to stop letting those race whores hang all over you at the races 'cause you know how much I hate it, but don't care, or just ignore it. I want..... just one more moment when you look at me like I'm the only girl in the world. God," I sigh. "I'm just realizing there are so many things I've never told you, or made you understand."  
  
"Like what?" He frowns., tilting my chin so I can't avoid looking him in the eye.  
  
"Like how insanely in love with you I am, always have been and always will be, and how I'd die for you in an instant, no questions asked. I want you to know how much I hate to admit that because it makes me weak and vulnerable and able to get hurt." I can't stop now, so I tell him everything. "I want you to know how just a touch from you can run shivers down my spine. Kissing you sends sparks through my body. You're like some drug that I just can't get enough of." This makes him smile and he leans down, tilts my head back, and lays a gentle, yet passionate Corona-laced kiss on my lips. I take it in, and then pull back, looking down again.  
  
"So baby, what's wrong? Why are you so angry?"  
  
A few tears silently make their way down my cheeks. "Not angry. Scared, Dom, 'cause what I want most of all? I want you to love and want our baby as much as I do!"  
  
/Let the sun  
  
Fall all over me  
  
This life's not living, baby  
  
Living ain't free  
  
If I can't find my way back to me  
  
Let the sun fall down Let the sun fall over me This life's not living, baby Living ain't free And if I can't find my way back to me......./  
  
He stares at me, brow wrinkled in confusion and sadness. "But Let," his voice cracks. "We don't have a-"  
  
I cut him off. "Yeah Dom," I gently pull his huge hand to my stomach. "We do."  
  
/Let the sun fall down over me Let the sun fall down over me Let the sun fall down over me  
  
Let the sun fall down.......over me/  
  
~REVIEWS PEOPLE! YOU'LL FIND OUT DOM'S REACTION SOONER IF YOU REVIEW! I'VE ALWAYS GOT BOTH HALVES OF A CLIFFER READY TO POST AND IT DEPENDS ON THE MOTIVATION I GET FROM PEOPLE WHO R/R AS TO HOW FAST I POST~ 


	24. dom's reaction

~DUN DUN DUN!!!!!!!!!!!!! HERE YA GO! SORRY I DIDN'T POST SOONER. OH AND BEFORE I MENTIONED GIN HAD TO SEND IN COLLEGE APPS-WELL FOR THE PURPOSE OF SAVING TIME, SHE SENT THEM IN A WHILE AGO. THANKS!~  
  
~Dom's POV~  
  
"I've been debating when and how to tell you this, but I just didn't know where to start. Dom, I-I know this is the farthest thing from what you want, and-and I wasn't sure about it at first. But now I realize that I'm happy about this, and I just wish you could be too.  
  
"Wha......?" I'm dumbfounded.  
  
"If you don't want this baby," She chokes, " Then I'm sorry and that's your loss because I've realized I do.......and that having a part of me and you together is the most wonderful thing I could ever think of. Now if you're gonna play the hardass, then I'll leave and raise him or her on my own. I'm not afraid." It's obvious to see she's terrified of that because she's shaking while telling me this.  
  
Finally, the realization hits me. I'm going to be a father! Letty has my child, our child, growing inside her. I feel ecstatic! I'm so happy I can barely breathe. "Letty, shutup." I tell her quickly. She looks hurt beyond belief, as she still thinks I don't want this. Before I can say anything, she cuts in.  
  
"Fine, Dominic. If that's how this is going to be, then screw you. I'm gone." She pulls her keys out of her jeans pocket and starts to walk towards the driver's side door of her car.  
  
I grab her by the coverall arms tied loosely around her waist and pull her next to me, placing my hand on the small of her back. She stares at me silently, with those soulful eyes filled with tears. I brush away hairs from her delicate face. "There is nothing on this entire earth that I would love more than to be the father of your child....our child. I love you so much, Let. More than you will ever know. And it hurts to think I made you think even for a second that I wouldn't want a baby with you. You have so much passion, so much fire that I hope our child inherits and I thank God every day that you let me love you."  
  
I search her face to see what she's feeling and her tiny hand snakes to my neck, pulling our mouths together, almost violently. We kiss frantically, as if for the first or last time and only notice the guys when they start to catcall and whistle. We break apart, breathing hard and I growl, "OUT!" Leon takes one look at Letty's tear-stained face, and our embrace and kicks it into gear, followed by the rest of them. We go back to kissing against the side of her car. My mind draws to my previous thoughts for a second, tucking them away for a planning in the next couple of days. My life is taking on a new meaning and it's with the only woman I've ever truly wanted.  
  
Breaking apart for a second, she stares at me, just looks into my eyes. "Dom, what are we gonna do?" "What do you mean?"  
  
"Are we ready? Am I? I-I don't want to screw this kid over. I-"  
  
"Letty. No. You are going to be a great mother." I pull her into a hug and she whispers something in my ear.  
  
"I just, I don't want-I don't want to be like my mother." Her head tucked to my chest, I can feel her tears on my bare chest. My eyes widen at this. How could she EVER think she'd be like her mother?  
  
I pull her back from me and put my hand on her cheek. Gently smiling, I say, "Let. You will NEVER be like your mother. You have never been anything like her, and you never will."  
  
She smiles that amazing Letty smile and closes her eyes as I lean in to kiss her once again. I look surprised as she pulls back just as our lips brush together.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I want you to be just like Tony." She then pulls my head to hers and runs her tongue along my lower lip, asking entrance. I respond and our tongues battle each other in ecstasy.  
  
~Mia's POV~  
  
I put the strips of pasta into the dish and cover them with tomato sauce and cheese.  
  
"Here. Let me help you with that." Gin smiles and pulls her hair up before helping with the lasagna.  
  
"Thanks." We work in silence for a few minutes before Gin keeps opening her mouth, about to say something, and then deciding against it. "You ok, Gin?"  
  
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." She finishes, and then looks about to start again, but stops.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"College."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I applied to a lot of colleges."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Most of them are out of state."  
  
"Yeah, so?"  
  
"How am I gonna deal with school and Jesse?"  
  
Oh.....Honestly?" she nods. "I don't know. I never had to deal with that. And neither has Let, or any of the guys. They kinda, knew what they wanted from life, and college isn't part of it."  
  
She nods, keeping her head down. "Well, I-my two first choices are in New York. Julliard and Columbia."  
  
"I think you just need to tell Jesse how you feel and things will go where they go." She gives me a hug, sighing.  
  
"Thanks, Mi. I've just been stressed."  
  
"It'll all work out. Things always do." I smile and then glance to the front as I here the door open. Laughter filters into the kitchen as Dom stomps in with Letty on his back. Both of them are smiling and laughing. "Hey guys." I smile.  
  
"Hey Mia, Gin how ya livin?" She slides off Dom's back.  
  
"Pretty well. Dinner will be ready in a little while. I think the guys are out back."  
  
"Good, 'cause we got an announcement. Everyone's here tonight right?"  
  
"Yeah I think so." I lock eyes with Dom and raise an eyebrow questioningly. He shakes his head no. This makes me more confused because now I don't have any idea what the announcement could be. That's all the incentive I need to get going on dinner.  
  
~Letty's POV~  
  
We walk outside, Dom's arms around my waist and head on my shoulder. I laugh as his breath tickles my neck. He sits down, his back against the house and me sitting between his bent legs. "What do ya think the guys will say?" He asks. I can tell he's worried.  
  
"They'll be happy, Dom. Another kid to teach about cars. Not that any of you guys grew up yourselves." I laugh again as he tickles me. "Hey! But I like you that way." He laughs gruffly. I close my eyes and lean back against his chest, falling asleep in the process. What seems like seconds later, I awake in the midst of being carried to the table. Everyone is already seated.  
  
"Yo, V. Shove down." Dom says as he places me in the seat next to his. Quickly he says grace. Everyone reaches for the lasagna, Mia's specialty. "No eating yet." He orders after everyone has grabbed for their food. "We got an announcement."  
  
"Who's we?" V asks. I just glare at him and roll my eyes. "Ohhh." He says. I fight the urge to laugh.  
  
"Yeah. You guys are gonna need to shape up. You're way to irresponsible. Everyone has to start going to bed before 12, stop slacking off at the garage, and no more Corona." I start to laugh at the horrified looks on all the team's faces. Dom can't keep a straight face either.  
  
"What the fuck for?" V demands.  
  
"Cause another Toretto's coming."  
  
"Wait, what? When?" Mia prompts.  
  
"In about nine months." I smile as Mia's eyes widen and a grin breaks out.  
  
"Nawwww, dawg!" Leon smiles. "Congratulations."  
  
"You bastard." Vince laughs and gets Dom into a headlock. Brian comes over and slaps him on the back.  
  
"Another Toretto, huh. What are we gonna do with you two?" Jesse laughs. He then looks over at Dom. "Uhh, Dom? Where do babies come from?" I burst into laughter at the shock on Dom's face.  
  
"So THAT'S what was goin' on in the garage today." Leon teases.  
  
"Shutup!" I shove him in the shoulder. I can't think of a better environment to raise a little Toretto. An aunt, four uncles, and a father that loves him or her. 


	25. beginning the plan

OK Sorry it's taken so long to update, but I was having a bit of writer's block and school was hectic!  
  
~Dom's POV~  
  
The glow of the TV reflects off the bodies draped on the couches and floor. My eyes are fluttering open and closed as I faintly hear the rhythmic breathing of a sleeping Letty leaning against my shoulder on the floor. Mia and Bryan are stretched out on the sofa, Brian lightly snoring behind her. Gin is curled up in a ball, a blanket twisted around her form. Jesse, Leon, and Vince are all still intently staring at the action movie that is coming to a close. A few minutes later, Jesse clicks off the TV. Leon, Vince, and Brian stumble to their rooms groggily and Jesse heads out the door with Gin, probably to take her home. Mia wanders into the kitchen and I start to pick up Letty to take her to bed.  
  
"I can walk," She mumbles, rubbing her eyes.  
  
"Go back to sleep." I tell her, as her head gently nestles against my chest. I carry her upstairs and place her on the bed, gently taking off her boots and dropping them next to the bed. I slip off her pants and socks and then pull her shirt over her head, removing her bra and putting her tank back over her head. My hand lingers on her stomach and she puts her small hands over mine in her sleep. Quietly, I slip away and downstairs. Mia sits at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of tea.  
  
"Hey." I say.  
  
"Hey. So, how you feelin'?"  
  
"I......"I start before my face breaks into a grin.  
  
She smiles that sweet Mia smile. "Pretty happy, huh?"  
  
"It's incredible. I, I'm still in shock. I mean, wow! I'm gonna be a dad."  
  
"A great one. I can just see you with your li'l Dom or Letty sitting on your lap, racing around."  
  
"I hope I know what I've got myself into." I rub a hand across my face.  
  
"It'll be fine, Dom. Besides, you've got nine months to find out."  
  
"Yeah. Yeah I guess."  
  
"So, when are you gonna......?"  
  
"Huh?" I ask, tired. "Oh, soon. I don't know. I want it to be perfect. Anything less, would just be a disappointment."  
  
"I don't think so. Whatever you do will be perfect. You know that."  
  
"Well this is the only time I'm gonna get the chance to do this so I want to make it exactly....." I trail off. "I'll think about this tomorrow. I'm beat."  
  
"Night."  
  
"Night." I climb the stairs slowly and slip into my room. Taking off my clothes, I lie down next to her under the covers, but I can't sleep. I have so many confusing and nerve-wracking thoughts going through my head. Finally, at around 4, I drift off.  
~Jesse's POV~  
  
Gin crawls into the passenger's side of the Jetta and promptly falls asleep. I back out of the driveway, careful not to jolt the car when entering the street, and flip the radio on softly. Aaliyah's "I Miss You" plays quietly from the speakers. Gin starts to sing along. I guess she isn't asleep. I really start to listen to her and she sounds like an angel. Her voice is so beautiful. The song ends and I speak. "You're voice is incredible."  
  
"Thanks." She says glancing over at me. "Hey-uh Jess?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
She keeps playing with her hands. "I need to talk to you about something."  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Well.....I'm a senior in high school. I applied to a lot of colleges."  
  
"Yeah, and?"  
  
"Well, I'm going to go to one of them."  
  
"Ok."  
  
"My first two choices are out of state."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"New York......Columbia and Julliard."  
  
I suck air in through clenched teeth and grip the wheel a little tighter. "So if you get into one of those, you're going to go?"  
  
"I don't know. It kinda depends."  
  
"On what?"  
  
"On you."  
  
My mind races, trying to beat my mouth out of saying something bad. She should go to one of those schools. She's so smart and talented. She shouldn't be with a guy like me. All I'll do is stop her from living her dreams. "Why on me?" I try to say casually.  
  
She laughs. "Well......isn't that kind of obvious?"  
  
"Gin you don't know everything about me."  
  
"But I want to."  
  
I fight the urge to smile. Now's when I need to tell her. Let her understand what kind of a person I am. I pull into her driveway and switch off the car. Then I turn to look at her. I slip off my shirt quickly. "You wanna know what this scar is from?"  
  
~Dom's POV~  
  
I wake to the buzzing alarm clock. In the process of slapping it off, Letty slaps me in the head.  
  
"Sorry." she laughs as I groan.  
  
"Lovely way to wake up, Let."  
  
"Well if you let me keep the clock on my side of the bed......"  
  
"Yeah, yeah yeah." I get up and go take a quick shower before heading downstairs. I can hear the water turn on again in the bathroom so I know it's ok to speak freely. I approach Mia in the kitchen, where all the others are sitting. "Aight, guys?"  
  
They look up with glazed eyes. "What, Dom?" V asks.  
  
"I need your help. I'm......I'm going to..Shit, why can't I say this. You're supposed to be the easy people to tell."  
  
"Jesus, Dom. Just say it. No, here. I will. He's going to ask Let to marry him."  
  
"You serious, dawg?"  
  
"As a heart attack."  
  
"Damn. That's great! How you gonna do it? And when?"  
  
"Tomorrow. Mi, I need you to ask her to work the market. And then I'm gonna......" I stop as Vince gives me a glare and a little shake of the head. Let walks into the kitchen a moment later, her hair up in a towel.  
  
"Aight, well we gotta get goin' Mia. We can get the rest of the details later. Bye." The guys jump up and head out the door.  
  
"Details about what?" Letty asks.  
  
"Nothin'. I just needed someone to work the market tomorrow. I've got to go out for a while."  
  
"I'll do it, if you really need someone." Let offers.  
  
"Really?" Mia asks, surprised at the opportunity presented.  
  
"Sure. I need a break day."  
  
"Ok, but I can tell you, it's not always a break. It can get pretty busy."  
  
"I can handle it."  
  
"Thanks Let."  
~Sorry it's a short chapter, but it'll lead up to some good stuff!~ 


	26. Be my Wife

~I know, it's been forever! But school was hectic, and I've had some serious problems with the story, but I think I'm back to writing now. Thanks to TK for helping me through my writer's block!~  
  
~Letty's POV~  
  
Jesus! Mia wasn't kidding! The market is buzzing by 9:30. First comes the business mom with her two kids in tow, grabbing her coffee while they beg for pop-Tarts flavors that we don't have.  
  
"Ok, so that's a black coffee and a box of Pop-Tarts?" I ask the frazzled woman while ringing it up.  
  
"Ye-What?" she looks at her son and daughter as they tug at her skirt.  
  
"We only want tha pawp-tawts, if they ahrr Chehwwy flava-d, wif no spwinkles en dee icing." The little boy looks up at his mother, and the little girl nods. She sighs and looks at me.  
  
"Do you have the cherry flavored ones without icing?"  
  
I look to answer her, when a man leans against the counter. "I need a paper, pronto." I raise an eyebrow at him and gesture to the customers I'm assisting. "But I've got to get to work." He insists. I glare and point to the stack next to the counter. I think the confrontation is over but he slaps it on the counter with a $5 and nods to it, looking for change. I let out an exasperated sigh and slam his change onto the counter.  
  
"One second. let me check." I return to the woman and then the phone rings. I grab the cordless while walking into the back of the store to search for a crate of icing-less cherry pop-tarts. "Yeah?"  
  
"Hey."  
  
"Hi Dom. What dya need?"  
  
"I was thinking we could go out tonight?"  
  
"Not at this rate." I mutter.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Nothing. Sure, where did you want to go?"  
  
"I was thinking Ciao Trattoria?"  
  
"Yeah." I smile. "Sounds great. I'll have to go home and change, but then we could go."  
  
"Why don't I just bring you something when I pick you up?"  
  
"Ok." I agree. "But I've got to go, cuz I got customers. See you tonight."  
  
"7:00?"  
  
"Sure. Bye." I hang up the phone and return to the front, definitely deciding there is no such thing as an icing-less cherry Pop-Tart. "Uhh, I don't think there's-" I start, but no one's in the store. A couple of dollars are left on the counter, presumably by the woman for the coffee, but that is the only trace proving she'd ever been here. I sigh for the hundredth time that morning and lean all the way over the counter to grab a Motor Trend and settle in for a long day.  
  
The screeching of wheels draws my attention to the street outside. Gin's car is stopped with the windows down in front of the store and she's staring in."Hey Gin. You comin' in for a minute?" I ask. There is no reply and she just continues to stare strangely at me for a few more seconds, and then blows on by. "Right..." I shake my head and go back to reading about the new Lambourghini coming out next year.  
  
~Dom's POV~  
  
"Yo Dom, where you want me to move this?" Leon calls out of the window of a Mustang.  
  
"I don't know. Park it down the street if you have to, but this garage has gotta be pretty clear. We don't need the candles blowing shit up."  
  
"Aight. So you want the flowers like 6 miles down from the Net, by that big rock?"  
  
"Right. But put a trail in the sand from the last parking spot before the rock, ok?"  
  
"Gotcha." He pulls the car out of the garage. Jesse comes out of the office mumbling into a cell phone.  
  
"So call when you get this message. Please, Gin. We're not bad. It just happened." Jesse hangs up and takes a draw from a cigarette.  
  
"What's wrong?" I ask as I set up a table and chairs in the available space the Mustang left.  
  
"So yeah, I told her, about, well us and.....you know. She just looked at me for a while and then got out of the car and went inside. I didn't know what I was supposed to do so I just left. And then I called her when I got home and she hung up when she heard it was me. And so I've been leaving messages and she hasn't called back."  
  
"I don't know, Jess. Maybe you shouldn't have told her."  
  
"Yeah no shit. But it woulda come up at some point, right?" he frowns.  
  
"Yeah probably."  
  
"I don't know." He rubs a hand through his hair. "I'm gonna go for a drive."  
  
~Letty's POV~  
  
Lunchtime rolls around quickly, though a steady stream of customers have left me on the same Lambourghini article all day. I am seriously pissed and don't know why I told Mia I'd work the store. My next customer is a pleasant surprise considering the lot of people I've had to take crap from today. Jesse rolls up and gets out, looking almost hung over.  
  
"Yo Jess. How you livin', dare I ask?"  
  
"Yeah. I've been driving around for about a half a day."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Shit to sort out. So I told Gin about my scar and I think she flipped."  
  
"You think?" I ask.  
  
"Well I haven't actually talked to her. She keeps ignoring my calls." He recounts the story to me and I nod.  
  
"So that's why she drove by here acting weird."  
  
"She was here?" he asks hopefully.  
  
"Nope. She stopped outside and looked at me all strange and shit, and then just kept driving."  
  
"Right, well, I think I'm gonna go to her house before tonight's shindig goes down." He says.  
  
"What shindig? Are you coming to Trattoria too?"  
  
His eyes go wide for a second, but then he answers. "No. What I meant was, was that me and the guys were gonna do a movie marathon and I didn't want to miss it."  
  
"Oh," I say and then glance back at my magazine.  
  
"Yeah so I'm gonna go now. I'll see you later." He hurries out to his car and is gone as fast as he came.  
  
As soon as I get into the good parts of the article, a whole crowd of high school kids runs in demanding their orders so they can get back to school before being noticed missing.  
  
"Ok, so that's a turkey on rye for you, with those Doritos and a Coke." I point to a blonde girl sitting on a stool. "And you want ham and cheese on white, with no crusts, and pretzels and a diet vanilla Coke?" I ask her dark-haired friend.  
  
"Right. And Marcos and Jimmy each want a turkey and cheese with tomatoes and mustard on wheat, with Lays and Fritos and a Sprite and a water." She finishes.  
  
My head spins with all the orders, but my hands continue to make sandwiches. I finish up with the girls and hand them the food. "That'll be $21.55." I tell them.  
  
"$21.55? Are you sure?" She asks.  
  
"Yeah...It's a buck a drink, $1.25 for chips and $2.50 a sandwich. Plus tax."  
  
"That's crazy. $1.25 for chips?"  
  
"You don't have to buy them."  
  
"Yeah. I'll buy them." She bitterly plunks down her money and stomps off to her crappy Accord with her friends.  
  
"Just what I need today!" I roll my eyes, as another couple kids come to order.  
  
~Dom's POV~  
  
"Whoa, watch it Dom." Mia says. "We can't have Letty's fiancé-to-be falling and knocking himself unconscious." She smiles as she holds the ladder for me, while a string twinkly lights around the garage.  
  
"So, she's not going to kill me is she? I mean this whole pissing her off idea isn't going to backfire is it?"  
  
"No. She'll be mad, Letty-mad, but when you get out to the beach, she's going to completely melt."  
  
"Or demand you then and there in the sand, so you don't get a chance to say anything, much less pull out a ring." Vince grins and rocks the ladder. I smile.  
  
"Hell, either way I win, right?"  
  
Mia smacks my leg. "You actually want to be engaged by the time the night is over, stupid!"  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Ok, so the plan is, when Letty calls, because I'm late, Vince, you answer. Tell her I'm still working at the garage and to drive over. We can't go to dinner. Got it?"  
  
"Yeah yeah. We've been over this before."  
  
"I just don't want anything screwed up." I climb down from the ladder and continue to work on the garage's temporary transformation.  
  
~Letty's POV~  
  
God! This day has been exhausting. I glance at my watch with almost heavy eyelids. 6:55. I smile, realizing I can close up, and at the thought of my dinner tonight. It's been a loooong time since Dom and I have had an actual date. I take the tables inside and slide the metal door down over the front of the market. I chill on the counter, finally getting a chance to read my magazine by the flickering fluorescent bulb overhead and the daylight still filtering in from the outside. 10 minutes goes by, and I flip through the magazine distractedly, glancing outside every few moments. 10 more minutes goes by and I'm worried that something's happened to him. Another 10 minutes goes by and I decide to call the house. Vince answers casually.  
  
"'lo?"  
  
"Hey V. Is Dom still there?"  
  
"No. He hasn't been back."  
  
"What? He was supposed to pick me up a half hour ago."  
  
"No, he's still working at the garage. He said dinner's off and to come by the shop when you were done."  
  
"That's really great! So nice of him to actually tell me. I'll see ya later V."  
  
"Bye."  
  
I growl to myself as I jump off the counter, flinging the magazine aside, and turn off the light. I get into my car and tear down the street, ending up at DT pretty quickly. I kill the engine and look at Dom, who comes out of the garage rubbing his head and chest with a towel He puts on a shirt, as I stand there and glare at him. I clear my throat to get his attention.  
  
"What?" He asks, sliding off his coveralls in the open driveway and putting on a pair of jeans.  
  
"What the fuck, Dom? You just weren't going to call me?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"About dinner? You were just gonna leave me at the store and hope I called Vince? That's really nice of you."  
  
"Sorry, Let, but I was really busy. The garage was full of shit to do today. But I don't know why Vince told you we weren't going. We can still go."  
  
"Since you didn't go home, I don't have anything to wear.....and by the looks of it, neither do you. Trattoria's a fancy place, but I thought you'd know that, considering you arranged it and all." I spit out at him.  
  
"It's ok. Let's still go."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Come on. Get in the car." He gets in the driver's side of his Mazda and gestures to the passenger seat. I scoff and get in unwillingly, crossing my arms. I look out the window as the landscape zips by refusing to glance at him and my weariness overtakes me. I fall asleep as we zoom down the highway. I only wake up when Dom pulls to a stop at the restaurant. No, it's not the restaurant. We're nowhere near the city. We're at the beach.  
  
"Where are we Dom? I thought you decided we were going to dinner?" I ask irritably as I get out of the car.  
  
"Changed my mind. Come on." I reluctantly let him grab my hand as we walk onto the sand. I sit down with him and we take off our shoes and toss them back towards the car. Then we continue to wander down the beach. Suddenly, in the middle of the sand is nestled a hibiscus flower. He goes to pick it up and hands it to me.  
  
"That's weird." I say, and take the gift. Soon, I see another one, and another one. "This is so weird. Where are they coming from?" Dom just smiles at me. "Dom?" I question him. He doesn't reply, but just puts an arm around my waist and pulls me closer. Then, as we approach the rock where we always sit when at the beach, I see a gorgeous spread of candles and all kinds of tropical flowers. More hibiscus, tiger lilies, plumeria, orchids, ginger, birds of paradise, and even heliconias. "Really, Dom. What is this?"  
  
"It's for you."  
  
"But, why?" I turn to him and look him directly in the eye.  
  
"Does there have to be a reason?" He grins at me.  
  
"No.....but I know you. Why can't you stop smiling?" I ask, my hands on my hips. He puts his hands on my shoulders and kisses me lightly, and then it deepens. When he pulls away, I'm a little breathless. Slowly, he bends down on one knee.  
  
"First off, Let, I want you to know I started planning this way before I ever found out you were pregnant."  
  
"Ok.......What exactly are you doing?" I question him, completely bewildered. I'm in a sort-of state of shock, so thinking clearly is not possible for me at the moment.  
  
"We've known each other forever, right?" I nod my head at him. "And, when you were 16, I finally realized what the hell I was missing by not being with you. You've had my heart completely, since I was 20, and you haven't had to work for it since then, though sometimes you might not know that. Now I want to know, that I have yours, forever,s-"  
  
"Dom. You've always had my heart, and you always will."  
  
"Baby, let me finish. I want to know I'll never have to worry about losing you to someone else, someone that can offer you more, because believe me, there are a ton of guys out there that could offer you much more than I can. So please, if you love me as much as I love you," He pauses and slips a little box out of his pocket. "Take this ring, and say you'll be my wife." My eyes widen as he opens the velvet casing and I see the simple, yet gorgeous ring. It's a silver band, encircled with tiny diamonds. Suddenly, my mind clears of its fog, and I realize what's happening. I look into his eyes and see he's actually scared that I might say no. I gently grab his head and pull him to me, kissing him urgently, to let him know I'll never want anyone but him.  
  
"Dom.....Yes! Of course I'll be your wife. You've always been the one I wanted, always have been and always will be." His face lights up like a little boy at Christmas and he picks me up and swings me around. "Where did you find this ring?"  
  
"You like it?" He asks as he slips it on my finger.  
  
"It's incredible! I don't know how you picked one so perfect! It's not like I thought much about marriage, but I knew I didn't want a big bulky ring." I hold out my hand and look at it.  
  
"It was my mom's. My dad gave it to her when they got engaged." He says quietly, almost shyly, and looks up to the sky. "I wonder if he can see us now."  
  
"I'm sure he can."  
  
"You know what he said to me once?" I shake my head. "Well, one time I came home after going out with some random bimbo, he kind of shook is head sadly and said, 'Dom, why can't you find someone that fits you? I mean someone like, like Letty?' I brushed it off at the time, but damn, he was right." He brushes a hand against my cheek, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. I kiss him hungrily then, wrapping my arms around his neck and he pulls me close. Soon both our shirts are flung to the side and slowly, I pull him down to the sand.........  
  
~Jesse's POV~  
  
I finally slowly make my way up Gin's driveway in the twilight. I tried to make myself go before, but I couldn't do it. I feel so ashamed, like I'm some criminal. I am a criminal. But I've never felt like one until last night. Reluctantly, I climb out of my car and make my way to the door. I ring the bell and I hear the light patter of feet coming to the door. It creaks open and Gin stands there in boxers and a tank top. Her breath catches in her throat as she sees me and she closes the door in my face quickly. Before I can knock again, she opens the door once more.  
  
"Hi," she says quietly.  
  
"Hey." Silence hangs in the air for a moment. "Can I come in?"  
  
She looks unsure, but nods. "Why are you here?" she asks honestly, as I walk in the door.  
  
"Because........I want to talk about it and.........because I love you. I know why you're shocked and I understand, but is something that I did that was stupid going to ruin whatever it is that we have?"  
  
"No." She says quickly and grabs my shirt, pulling me to her. "I just....I didn't know what to think. My father was a dirtbag. I didn't want to be attracted to a dirtbag as well. But thinking about it today, I know that's the farthest thing from what you are." We kiss gently.  
  
"So.......we're cool?" I ask, not knowing what else to say.  
  
"Yeah," She laughs. "You could say that."  
  
~Dom's POV~  
  
A little while later, we get in the car and drive back to the garage. "I forgot something earlier. Come with me?" I ask, and she complies. I spread the bay doors wide and her jaw drops as she takes in the lights, candles, flowers, and dinner spread out before us. Leon, Vince, Jesse, Brian, Mia, and Gin, the whole team is sitting around, playing poker, obviously waiting for our arrival. This makes Letty laugh.  
  
"So?" Vince asks.  
  
"So, you're a lying little fucker." Letty looks at him. "And if it were supposed to be worn on my middle finger, I'd flick you off, but it's one finger over." She holds up her ring finger in a joking salute to Vince. Everyone starts to smile and congratulate us as they filter out of the garage, giving us some alone time. Vince stops in the doorway.  
  
"Ya know, I never thought any girl would be able to tie him down.........until he fell for you. Then I knew it was only a matter of time. Anyone else, and I don't think I'd truly be happy for him. Congratulations guys." He walks out of the garage, leaving us to our dinner. We sit down at the little table set up and Dom serves amazing pasta that Mia made for us.  
  
~Alright, SO LONG I know. I was going to split it up but thought that since I hadn't written in ages, it's deserved. REVIEW~ 


End file.
